Fallen Angel
by Lady-Annabeth-Winchester
Summary: Part Four of the Hells Bells series. After Cas opens purgatory and sets the Leviathan loose on the world, the Winchesters, Elena, and their allies have to deal with their presence in the world as well as their own pasts, loss, and a heartbreaking change that threatens to tear them all apart Dean/Elena Rated M for violence, language, and sexual content
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer I do not own TVD or Supernatural**

**Thank you to everyone who has stuck with me thusfar. I love you all. Let's all get ready for another part.**

**Summary: Part Four of the Hells Bells series. After Cas opens purgatory and sets the Leviathan loose on the world, the Winchesters, Elena, and their allies have to deal with their presence in the world as well as their own pasts, loss, and a heartbreaking change that threatens to tear them all apart Dean/Elena **

**A few things**

**1. This chapter is strange. It's introducing the story, obviously, but it's also setting up a main theme of this part of the series. There will be a lot of struggle with darkness in this story, starting with Cas and mainly ending up with Elena as well as the Leviathan storyline. It'll deal with a lot of unresolved issues (i.e. Dean erasing her and Jeremy's memories) as well as bringing back some old friends and enemies.**

**2. Elena's outfits are on my profile.**

**3. I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

Sam staggered away from Castiel as Dean helped Elena to her feet. He was shocked when she moved away from him, her body rigid and straight. Her head was held high and Castiel turned to her. When their eyes met, he squinted slightly and she nodded as if they were communicating silently. Then the former angel turned god's eyes turned back to them and he narrowed them. After a few moments, Bobby began crouching down until he was on his knees.

"Well, all right then. Is this good, or you want the whole forehead to the carpet thing?" the older hunter asked.

Castiel just stared at him as he glanced at the two Winchesters.

"Guys?" he urged them.

Dean and Sam followed suit, starting to kneel to the ground.

"Stop." Castiel said. "What's the point if you don't mean it? You fear me. Not love, not respect, just fear."

"Cas..." Sam began, looking at him with wide, sad eyes.

"Sam, you have nothing to say to me. You stabbed me in the back." he said, sparing one glance at the younger brother before looking back at Bobby and Dean. "Get up."

"Cas, come on, this isn't you." Dean said, trying to get through to him.

"The Castiel you knew is gone." He replied.

"So what, then? Kill us?" Dean asked, glancing to Elena where she was still standing there watching Castiel.

His eyes went back to see Cas standing there squinting at him.

"What a brave little ant you are. You know you're powerless, you wouldn't dare move against me again. That would be pointless. So I have no need to kill you. Not now. Besides... once you were my favorite pets before you turned and bit me." he said.

Dean stared at him, hardly able to believe that those words were coming out of Cas's mouth.

"Who are you?" he demanded, certain that this wasn't Cas.

"I'm God. And if you stay in your place, you may live in my kingdom. If you rise up, I will strike you down. Not doing so well, are you Sam?"

He glanced at Sam who was pale and shaky.

"I'm fine... I'm... fine." Sam stammered out, obviously lying.

"You said you would fix him… you promised!" Dean snapped, angry at him now.

"If you stood down, which you hardly did."

Castiel glanced at Elena as if he expected for her to argue. Her mouth remained shut and the others wondered what the hell Cas did to her to change her so much.

"Be thankful for my mercy. I could have cast you back into the pit." Castiel said, looking over at Sam who swallowed hard at the threat.

"Cas, come on, this is nuts! You can turn this around, please!" Dean pleaded.

"I hope for your sake this is the last you see me." he said.

"Wait." Elena's voice finally rang out.

He looked at her.

"I fulfilled my part of our deal and your part was that you would fix Sam." she said, her voice as monotone as Castiel's was.

He stared at her for a moment.

"I have work to do. Once I get it done, I may reconsider my decision." He said before disappearing.

Elena stood there staring at the spot that he disappeared from before letting out a breath.

"What the hell?" Dean demanded as she relaxed from her stance.

"He was in my head." She said simply before running to Sam, whose nose was bleeding.

"Sam, you okay?" Dean said, worried as he hurried over as well.

Elena caught him as he let out a groan and stumbled to the ground but he took her by surprise with his mass and they both fell. Sam's hand slammed down on some glass and a shard buried itself in Elena's thigh.

"Sam! Sam come on." she said, ignoring the pain as she put her hands on his cheeks and stared into his eyes.

* * *

Castiel looked around as he walked through the meadow of his heaven.

"Understand. If you followed Raphael, if you stood against me, punishment is certain… there is nowhere to hide. The rest of you, our Father left a long time ago, and that was hard. I thought the answer was free will. But I understand now. You need a firm hand. You need a father. And I am your father now. Be obedient, children. Or this will be your fate."

He looked around at the dozens of dead angels that surrounded him, all followers of Raphael, all appropriately punished.

"It is a new day. On earth, and in heaven. Rejoice."

* * *

Dean groaned and growled as he laid on his back in the front seat of the Impala with his feet on the dented roof. He was attempting to push it back out.

"Come on!" he grunted, using his entire body's strength to try to fix it.

The metal groaned but didn't pop out.

"Come on, baby!"

A face appeared over his and Elena was looking down at him.

"Need some help?" she asked, her hands going to either side of his face and her hair falling as a curtain around them.

He gave up, dropping his legs and sighing.

"So, you fixin' her or primal screamin'?" Bobby asked from the outside and Dean assumed they'd walked out together.

Elena handed him a beer and she was holding her own in her other hand.

"Thanks. How's Sam?" he asked, glancing between them.

"He's still under. But alive." Bobby informed him.

"How are you feeling?" he asked Elena.

"I'm fine. I don't know what Cas did to me but… I think I'm okay." She shrugged, leaning against the car.

Dean stared at her with slightly narrowed eyes.

"I know how serious this is, Dean. If there were anything wrong, I would tell you, trust me." Elena assured him.

"Yeah. Speaking of God part deux…" He turned to look at Bobby.

"I got all kinds of feelers out, so far diddly." The older hunter said.

"And what exactly are you looking for?" Dean asked, watching as Elena handed him her beer and slid into the seat of the Impala.

"Exactly. What? Miracles, mass visions, trenchcoat on a tortilla? I don't know what I'm lookin' for." Bobby shrugged as they both bent over to watch.

"Ah, well, he'll surface." Dean said as she planted her feet on the roof just as he had.

"So say we do suss out where new and improved flew off to..." Bobby trailed off.

"Yeah?" Dean said.

"The hell we plan to do about it?"

They were interrupted as Elena gave one good shove and the roof popped up easily. She tilted her head back and grinned at Dean upside-down, looking triumphant. He smirked back at her, shaking his head as she slid out of the car and brushed herself off.

"I don't know, Bobby, I got no more clue than you do." He sighed, pulling Elena into his side and handed her the beer back.

"I don't even know what books to hit for this, Dean." Bobby argued.

"Well, figure it out!"

"Dean!" Elena admonished.

He shook his head, rubbing his temple.

"I'm sorry. This ain't in no book." He said. "If you stick your neck out, Cas steps on it. So you know what I'm gonna do?"

"What?" Bobby asked, sounding wary.

"Imma fix this car. Because that's what I can do. I can work on her 'til she's mint. And when Sam wakes up, no matter what shape he's in, we'll glue him back together too. We owe him that." Dean said with certainty.

"We're with you." Elena assured, looking up at him with a sad look.

Dean knew that she was keeping herself strong for them. He knew that, after they gave her the third degree about why the hell she helped Cas, she was feeling like she had to be.

"_What the hell were you thinking, helping him?" Dean demanded as they appeared in front of Bobby's house._

"_I was doing something, Dean. Which was a hell of a lot more than you two were doing. In my plan, no one died. In your plan, everyone did. I thought that it would work and for that I'm sorry." She snapped back._

"_What exactly was your plan?" He said as they heaved Sam onto the couch and Elena knelt beside him._

"_To save Sam. In your plan, you were going to kill the one who could save him. I was looking out for Sam. Not for myself, not for Cas. Sam. I thought if I helped him he would be gracious… that he would forgive the fact that you were going to kill him. He might have been if Sam hadn't stabbed him." she said, putting her hands on his head._

_Dean sighed, knowing she had a point._

"_I'm sorry, Dean. I really thought that I was doing the right thing." She whispered, her head bowing._

"_I know. Now we just… we have to fix Sam. That's all that matters. Getting him better." Dean said._

"_And figuring out what to do about Cas." Elena said, turning to look at him._

_He gave her a confused look._

"_With the power he has, it's not going to take him long to kill all of Raphael's followers. He'll be back to take care of business on earth soon, I saw that in his head. What business he wanted to take care of, I don't know. But I have a feeling it's going to rack up a body count." She said._

_Dean glanced back at Bobby, who nodded._

"_What did he do to you anyways?" Dean asked her._

"_I don't know. I don't really feel any different. I know that there's something… like a connection. He could get in my head and I think that, if I pushed, I could get in his too. It was strange." she sighed._

"_We'll figure it out." he assured her._

"_Yeah." She nodded._

Dean glanced up at Elena as she rolled her head and winced as she stretched out her torso.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah my back just hurts… my shoulder blades." She sighed.

He put his beer down and pulled her into him, massaging his hands gently over her knotted muscles.

"I love you." he whispered in her ear.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and lifted herself to kiss him lightly.

"I love you too."

* * *

They walked in through the back door, Dean wiping his hands on his jeans.

"Hey Dean. Elena."

They looked up to see Sam walk in fully dressed and looking better.

"Ah, you're walking and talking." Dean said as Elena skirted her eyes over him to see if anything was wrong.

"Yeah. I, uh, put on my own socks, the whole nine." Sam nodded.

"Well, that's uh... I mean you, uh, you sure you're okay?" Dean asked, squinting at him.

"Yeah. My head hurts a little, but... basically." Sam nodded, looking relieved.

"Seriously?" Elena asked with uncertainty.

"Look, I'm as surprised as you are but, yeah, I swear." He said, smiling at them.

"Good! No reason putting a gift horse under a microscope, right?" Dean shrugged.

"Yeah. So what happened with Cas?" Sam asked.

"Why don't you come help me with the car, I'll fill you in?"

"Okay." Sam nodded, moving to walk outside.

Elena remained inside, watching Sam as he moved towards the door. Suddenly he hesitated and glanced behind him nervously.

"Sam?" she said.

"I'm fine." He said before turning to leave.

Elena hesitated, feeling concern for the younger Winchester before she followed him out, rubbing her shoulders as she felt the same soreness in them. Suddenly she stopped at the door, leaning on it as whispers filled her head, speaking her name. She collapsed to her knees as a radiating pain went through her back and her skin over her shoulderblades felt as though it was splitting open. A long, bloodcurdling scream spilled out of her mouth as she felt blood seeping through the back of her shirt.

* * *

"Plenty speak for them and their so-called lifestyle!" the preacher said proudly from the front of the pulpit. "Media, Hollywood, Lady Gaga won't shut up for love or money."

The congregation chuckled lightly.

"Yeah, funny, but that's why we raise our voices! And picket their so-called weddings, and their funerals. Someone has to speak for God." The reverend announced.

"And who says you speak for God?"

They all turned and looked to see a man in a trenchcoat standing at the back of the chapel.

"You're wrong, I am utterly indifferent to sexual orientation. On the other hand, I cannot abide hypocrites like you, Reverend." He said, moving forward.

"Okay, fun's over friend." The reverend scoffed.

"Tell your flock where your genitals have been before you speak for me." Castiel said, narrowing his eyes at the man.

"And who the heck are you?" he demanded.

"I'm God."

The congregation all murmured amongst themselves. A parishoner stood to speak in the reverend's defense. Castiel glanced over at him and the man keeled back, breaking the church pew as he fell unconscious.

"And he who lies in my name shall choke on his own false tongue, and his poisonous words shall betray him." he said as he walked forward.

The reverend began to choke, clutching his throat as foam poured out of his mouth. He fell to his knees and collapsed to the floor, dead. Castiel turned slowly, silencing the panicked cries of the people.

"For I am the Lord, your God." He finished before moving to walk out.

Suddenly he stopped short, leaning onto one of the pews and gripping the wooden back as whispers filled his head.

"Castiel!" the voice hissed and he didn't know who it was.

But then another voice filled his head, the voice that he would always recognize. It was panicked and pleading with pain obviously laced through it.

"Cas!" Elena's voice sobbed. "Please… help!"

Castiel turned and looked at the image of Jesus in a stained-glass window as the voices faded. He collected himself and resumed walking out, not looking back at the window as the image of Jesus changed to an image of him.

* * *

"You don't see anything?" Elena whimpered, her head bent forward and her hair over her shoulder as Dean looked at her back.

They were in the study, Dean, Bobby, and Sam having rushed to her when they heard her screams. When she informed them of what was happening, Dean helped her to the couch and practically ripped her shirt off to see her back. Bobby was respectfully facing the other way as she wasn't wearing a shirt. Dean's hands drifted over her back.

"There's nothing here. No cuts, no blood, not even a mark other than your tattoo." He said, concern evident in his voice.

"I know I felt it." she sighed, letting her head drop further as the memory of the pain flashed through her mind.

"Think it has something to do with what Cas did to her? His reward?" Bobby said as Dean placed a blanket over her shoulders.

Elena clutched it around her body as she leaned back into his chest and his arms wrapped around her comfortingly.

"I don't know. Probably." Dean sighed.

Her eyes lifted and widened.

"Shut up!" she snapped, reaching for the remote to turn up the muted television.

"Elena you can't keep defending…"

"Shut up!" she growled again, turning the volume up.

Dean and Bobby both fell silent when they saw what was going on.

"Bobby you better go get Sam. I think he went down in the basement." Dean said numbly.

* * *

Sam was searching around for the first-aid kit when he heard the faint jingling of chains as well as ominous laughter. He turned around and gasped when he saw that the basement was bathed in an eerie red light. Meathooks were hanging from the ceiling covered in blood, flesh, and hair. He stumbled into the corner and cowered away from whatever was happening.

"No, no, this can't be happening." He stammered out.

He heard thumping and winced away as Bobby appeared at the bottom of the stairs.

"Hey Sam! What are you, taking a nap down here?" the older man demanded.

The basement was suddenly back to normal as Sam cowered away.

"It's Cas, we think. Come on." Bobby said, leading him back upstairs.

"Yeah. Coming." He breathed.

* * *

"The sudden deaths of some 200 religious leaders are currently under investigation. The Vatican has yet to issue a statement, but some are already calling this an act of God." The reporter said as they all watched the television screen.

A young woman was outside of a church being interviewed.

"We all saw him. No beard, no robe. He was young... and... and sexy. He had a raincoat."

Dean reached down and grabbed the remote from Elena, shutting the television off.

"Come on, let's get you upstairs." He helped her up and led her towards the stairs so she could get some rest.

* * *

_Elena jerked awake, squinting around the dark room. She felt Dean lying next to her and sighed, running her hands through her hair. That was when she felt the other presence in the room._

"_Cas!" she exclaimed, shoving herself towards the headboard as she saw him at the edge of their bed._

"_You need to come to me." he said simply, staring at her._

"_What are you talking about?" she demanded, her heart pounding as she was afraid that he'd changed his mind and would kill them now._

"_You need to come to me. I cannot guarantee your safety with these humans." he said._

"_You're here now." She argued, confused._

_He stared at her and Elena suddenly realized what was going on._

"_I'm sleeping. You're in my dreams." She sighed, running a hand down her face._

"_Come to me, Elena." he said again._

"_No, Cas. You're off the rails insane and I don't want to be anywhere near you. Not until you decide to let us help you fix this." she snapped, glaring at him._

_He sighed and moved to her side of the bed. Elena flinched away as he reached out towards her. His hand reached out and touched her forehead and all of the sudden she was sitting on the bed ridgidly._

"_They were speaking to you, the souls. You were pushing against them, refusing their help and their control. Now they have control and you can follow me. My angel. My creation." He said, his hand coming down to stroke her cheek._

"_Yes." Elena said, staring up at him with a soft and reverent voice._

"_Come to me, my child." He said before disappearing._

* * *

Elena sat up slowly, pushing the covers off as she slid out of the bed. Dean immediately woke up as the weight of the bed shifted and her warmth left.

"Lena?" he mumbled sleepily.

She glanced back at him.

"I do not belong to you anymore." she said in a monotone.

Dean sat up, confused.

"What are you talking about?"

She stared down at him with a coldness in her eyes that matched Castiel's back in the lab.

"I take my leave. He needs me." she said.

"Elena!" he scrambled out of the bed, panicking.

"Do not look for me! I will not come. He needs me! I am his angel!" she snapped.

Dean barely registered that her clothes changed before she disappeared from the room.

* * *

"So, what you're telling me is that yes, God in a trenchcoat did do something to Elena and now she's on his side?" Bobby said.

Dean glared up at him before resuming pacing.

"Hey, I'm not passing any judgments on Elena. We all know that she wouldn't be doing this willingly if he hadn't rewarded her. But with them two together… who knows what's gonna happen? They're both damn powerful. Especially if Castiel has made her a full-blooded angel." The older hunter said defensively.

"She'll come back to us. I know she will. She has to." Dean mumbled.

Sam and Bobby exchanged a wary look before glancing back at Dean.

"We should probably tell Jeremy and the others." Sam suggested.

"No! I'm going to get her back. They'll never have to know." Dean argued.

They both sighed, knowing that this was going to be much worse than they originally expected.

* * *

Elena appeared in a parking lot that was dark except for a few overhead lights.

"You called." She said dryly, walking forward.

"What did you tell them?" Castiel asked, turning to look at her with a narrowed gaze.

"That you needed me and not to try to come after me. They understand." Elena said confidently, crossing her arms.

"And if they don't?" he asked.

"They know that they can't take you on. Especially now that I'm on your side. If they do come after me, we'll take care of it." she replied.

"And what if you go back to how you were before? I allowed the voices control and this allowed your usual self to be… suppressed. What if you take over them again?" he asked.

Elena shrugged.

"You'll have to fix me again." She said simply. "Now who's next on your list?"

* * *

Dean cocked his head to the side as he worked on the window of the Impala. It had been a week since Elena disappeared and news had been flowing in ever since.

"Believed to be target hits high up in white-supremacy organizations. The FBI now believes the Ku Klux Klan has been forced to disband." The voice over the radio said.

Dean considered the words, working the window up and down successfully.

"Can't argue with that one." He shrugged.

* * *

Now he was bent over the hood with the radio on again a few days later. Sam was standing next to him helping him out.

"A freak lightning strike on the heels of the fire that burned down the Center for Vibrational Enlightenment earlier today. Said a spokesman, 'this tragedy represents the largest loss in New Age motivational speaker history'." The voice on the radio informed them.

Sam paused, glancing up.

"Motivational speakers?" he said, looking over at Dean.

"Yeah, I'm not sure new Cas gets irony any better than old Cas. Elena probably had a good laugh over it." Dean said and there was both bitterness and fear in his voice.

With Cas, they expected a body count. But knowing that Elena was beside him while performing all of these… acts. It bothered them all even if she wasn't herself. Sam gave Dean a sympathetic look.

"Of course, old Cas wouldn't smite Madison Square Garden just to prove a point and old Elena certainly wouldn't let him. He is off the deep end of the deep end and he's dragging her down with him. And there's no slowing down." Dean grumbled.

"So, what? Try to talk to him again?" Sam asked.

"Sam." Dean sighed, straightening up.

"Dean, all we can do is talk to the guy. At the least we can get him to let Elena go from whatever freaky influence he has her under." Sam argued.

"He's not a guy. He's God. And he's pissed and Elena is his… angel… or whatever. And when God and his angel get righteous, you get the hell out of the way; haven't you read the Bible?" Dean demanded.

"I guess..." Sam said unwillingly.

"Cas is never coming back. He's lied to us, he used us, he cracked your gourd like it was nothing. Now he has Elena by the short and curlies and for all we know, we're never getting her back. I guess it took long enough for something to take her away from us like everything gets taken away from us. I'm surprised it hasn't permanently happened before. I can't think about it or I will drink myself to death so no more talk; we have spent enough on… just no more." He ranted.

"Okay." Sam said unwillingly.

"Hand me that socket wrench." Dean said, ending the conversation.

* * *

The being in the small trailer sighed as he poured himself a glass of alcohol. Nancy Sinatra was playing in the background as he sat down to stare at the television screen.

"...since biblical times. Leprosy was once so prevalent that colonies were found around the world. Today we are witnessing the unprecedented shutdown of India's leper colonies after what many are calling a miracle healing. Here with us, health correspondent Rob Lewinsky." The newscaster said.

"Educate me, Lewinsky." Crowley said, swirling his drink.

Suddenly the television went dark as well as his lights. Crowley became still and tense.

"Hello, Crowley."

His head turned slowly and his eyes widened when he saw the two people standing in his trailer. Elena was leaning against his cabinets with her arms crossed and Castiel was standing a few inches forward and to the side of her.

"You look stressed." Castiel said, a slight hint of mocking amusement on his face that looked out of place but perfectly normal at the same time.

Elena smirked slightly, looking completely different herself and he wondered what he missed and why she was traveling with their new God. It didn't matter. He could feel the power radiating from the two.

"Bollocks." He sighed.

The demon moved to stand up, staring at them warily.

"So, the jig is up. You found me." he said.

"I never lost you." Castiel corrected him, looking around at the Enochian sigils on the walls. "These scratches, they're all useless."

"Still.. can't blame a girl for trying." Crowley shrugged.

"I can try." Elena offered, sounding thrilled at the prospect.

Castiel glanced at her over his shoulder, something that almost looked like a warning glance. She quieted, glaring at Crowley over Castiel's shoulder.

"Fancy a drink before you smite me?" he offered, holding up his drink.

"No." Castiel said simply.

"You like to bend them right over, do you? Let's go."

Crowley held his arms out and cringed backwards, waiting to die. Nothing happened for several minutes.

"I'm not going to kill you, Crowley. I have plans for you." Castiel said.

One of his eyes popped open.

"What's that?"

He saw Elena's eyes roll as he stared at Cas.

"Here's our new arrangement; I let you live, you return to your post as king of hell." Castiel said.

Crowley squinted at him.

"But?" he urged him.

"I choose where each soul goes. I control the flow, and you take whatever I give you." he said.

"I take it you intend to keep the lion's share? So, what you're saying is hell's being downsized?" he said, backing up to pour more liquid in his glass.

"I would have done away with it completely, but I need a threat to hold over my enemies. And we need to keep Lucifer's cage with him inside of it."

Crowley saw a flash of something in Elena's eyes, guilt… maybe. She was obviously holding something back from Castiel which was interesting.

"Right. I gather this is not a, uh, negotiation." He said.

"No."

"Then I graciously accept, boss." Crowley nodded at him.

Castiel nodded, stepping backwards.

"Elena will take care of any future communication between us." He said, gesturing to her.

Suddenly, when Crowley wasn't looking as he drank out of his glass, she grabbed his hand, her eyes widening when she saw it.

"Cas." She whispered, pointing out the sores beginning to develop on his skin.

Castiel stared at it for a moment.

"We'll be in touch." He said before they disappeared.

* * *

Bobby walked into the garage, looking over the Impala as Dean readied himself to paint it.

"She's looking good... considering." He said, handing Dean a beer.

"Considering? I should do this professionally." Dean shot back as they opened their beers and leaned against the walls.

"So… seen Sam lately?" Bobby asked.

"Yeah, why?" Dean replied, sipping at his beer.

The older hunter hesitated and Dean looked at him with worry, neither of them aware that Sam had just approached the garage and was listening in.

"What? Well, spit it out." Dean said to Bobby.

"How is that kid even vertical? I mean, Cas broke his damn pinata." He sighed.

"I know." Dean said, turning back to the Impala.

"I mean, I get how he came to help us back at the lab. Adrenaline. Sure, but now?" Bobby shook his head.

"Well.. he says he's okay." Dean said, taping up the antenna of the car.

"How?" Bobby pushed, not willing to give it up.

"I don't know. I just pray to God it's true." Dean sighed.

There was a moment of silence.

"We need to come up with a new saying for that." Bobby informed him as Dean scoffed and nodded.

"Seriously though, Bobby. Look at our lives. How many more hits can we take? So, if Sam says he's good… good!"

"You believe that?" Bobby questioned skeptically.

"Yeah." Dean shot back too quickly.

Then he hesitated for a moment.

"No. You wanna know why? Because we never catch a break. So why would we this time? I just… just this one thing. You know? But I'm not dumb. I'm not going to get my hopes up just to get kicked in the daddy-pills again."

Sam walked in and startled them both of the conversation.

"Hey." He said, looking innocent.

"Hey. How are you feeling, sport?" Bobby asked, too cheerful sounding.

"Can't complain!" Sam shrugged.

"Great. What's the word?" Dean asked, knowing something was going on.

"Well, a publishing house literally exploded about an hour ago. Cas and Elena have a body count that's really getting up there. We gotta do something."

"What we've got to do is hunt the son of bitch. Unfortunately, I lost my God guns." Bobby sighed.

"Well, I mean is there some kind of heavenly weapon? Maybe something out of that angel arsenal that Balthazar stole? There has to be something that can hurt him." Sam suggested.

"He's God, Sam. There's nothing…" he stopped, suddenly getting an idea. "… but there might be someone."

* * *

"You would tell me if there was something wrong, right?" Elena asked, inspecting the sores.

"There is nothing wrong. My vessel is malfunctioning because of all of the activity we've been taking part in. As soon as I finish our work, I can rest and fix it. You have no reason to worry." Castiel assured her.

Elena nodded, wrapping a bandage around it.

"You'd better be right." she sighed.

* * *

Bobby lit a match and threw it into the bowl where it erupted into a large flame. Suddenly a figure appeared in the middle of the Devil's trap holding a glass of whiskey. He turned and caught sight of them all standing in the basement.

"No. No! No! Come on!" Crowley growled, looking scared.

"Don't act so surprised." Bobby said, rolling his eyes.

"My new boss is going to kill me for even talking to you lads. Scratch that, his sidekick, your girlfriend…" Crowley snapped, glaring at Dean. "… is going to kill me. She's just looking for an excuse."

"Well, you're lucky we're not stabbing you in your scuzzy face, you little piece…" Dean snapped but Sam stopped him.

"Whoa, wait! What new boss?" Sam asked.

"Castiel, you giraffe." Crowley shot at him.

"Is your boss?" Bobby asked.

"Is everybody's boss. What do you think he and Elena are going to do if he finds out we've been conspiring?" Crowley hesitated, squinting at them. "You do you want to conspire, don't you?"

"No. We want you to just stand there and look pretty." Bobby grumbled.

"Listening." Crowley said.

"We need a spell to bind Death." Dean said.

"Bind? Enslave Death? You having a laugh?" the demon said, scoffing.

"Lucifer did it." Dean said simply.

"That's Lucifer." Crowley reminded him.

"A spell's a spell." Sam shrugged.

"You really believe you can handle that kind of horsepower? You're delusional!" he informed them.

"Death is the only player on the board left that has the kind of juice to take Cas and bring Elena back." Dean shrugged.

"They'll both mash us like peas. Why should I help with a suicide mission?" he demanded.

"Look! Do you really want Cas running the universe with Elena at his side?" Bobby asked plainly.

Crowley sighed, looking down and pouring himself another drink.

* * *

"Some help, please. Please. Help. So helpless." A blind man sitting on the sidewalk pleaded with the people passing.

Elena and Castiel walked up to him and she bent over, dropping a few coins in his can.

"God bless you." the man breathed.

"You're a true believer. People say I'm wrathful, but I only punish liars and those who forsake me. I am a just God." Castiel said.

"Excuse me?" the homeless man questioned, confused.

Castiel reached out and touched his forehead.

"See." He murmured.

The man blinked befoe his eyes cleared and his vision was restored.

"Oh my God, I can see!" he said with wonder, looking up at them.

His eyes looked over Elena's face before looking at Castiel.

"Your face… what's wrong with you?" he asked, sounding terrified suddenly.

Elena's head snapped and she looked horrified at the blisters forming on his face. She dragged him inside of the restaurant and pulled him into the bathroom, locking the door without touching it.

"What's going on, Cas?" she asked fearfully.

"A mistake. Too late. Let us out." a voice whispered in his head and he trembled as he unbuttoned his shirt.

Elena watched with horror as the form of hands pressed against his skin as if they were trying to bust his way out of his vessel.

"What is that?" she demanded fearfully.

"They are fighting me. I will get them under control." He said confidently.

"Cas…" she whimpered.

"It will be all right." he assured her and his shirt was suddenly buttoned.

"Let us out. Let us out!" the voices hissed.

"I will be all right."

* * *

Bobby noticed a paper slip under the doorway to the house as he passed. When he bent down to pick it up, he opened the door and glanced out to see that no one was there. He walked into the study as he read it, finding that it was the spell they asked for.

"It's from Crowley." He announced when Sam and Dean looked at him questioningly.

"Well, who feels like hog tying death tonight?" Dean sighed.

Sam and Bobby both hesitated, neither quite as optimistic as Dean.

"Old age is over-rated anyhow." Bobby grumbled.

Thirty minutes later, Bobby was done translating the spell.

"Well, we've got most of this stuff, but we're going to have to make a run for a few things." he said.

"Like?" Dean asked.

"Like an act of God crystallised forever." Bobby informed them.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sam asked, confused.

"That can means an actual crystal. See, lightning strikes sand at the right angle… it crystallizes into the perfect shape of itself." He explained.

"Lightning. Act of God." Sam said, nodding with realization.

"Jinga. You got yourself a fulgurate and we're gonna need a biggie." Bobby said.

"And let me guess... rare." Dean said, sounding like he already knew the answer.

Bobby nodded.

"I found records of an auction. Winning bidder lives about nine hours from here."

* * *

Dean snuck up to the house, holding a shotgun.

"Hey!" one of the guards found Sam doing the same, apparently.

"Excuse me. You got any Grey Poupon?" Dean asked.

The guard whirled around and he clocked him over the head, knocking him out.

"Grey Poupon? Seriously?" Sam asked, raising his eyebrows at Dean.

"It's what popped in my head." Dean shrugged, sighing.

They got into the house, effectively knocking out all of the guards. Dean was in the study glancing around at the different items in glass cases. Suddenly he heard a rifle cock and turned his head to see a man and his wife standing there in his pajamas.

"Hi. Uh... I don't want to hurt you. Really." He said, smiling politely at them.

"I'm the one with the firearm, son." The man said, scoffing.

Dean sighed, nodding.

"I get that." he said.

Suddenly the gun flew out of his hands and hit the wall. They both let out cries of panic as they were shoved against the wall as well, their bodies frozen. Dean looked around with panic to see Elena standing there looking furious.

"What are you doing?" she demanded, walking up to him.

He backed away, his instincts going off like crazy at the blazing look in her eyes.

"Elena we're…"

"You're going to kill him, aren't you? You're going to try, at least. He knew you wouldn't give up. So did I. You're such a fool, Dean Winchester." She growled, glaring at him.

"We have to try, too many people are dying." He said.

"Bad people!" she hissed.

"People nonetheless! Humans! I'm shocked I'm having to explain this one to you." he growled at her, his fear going out the window.

She glared back at him.

"Whatever you have planned isn't going to work. So whomever your summoning, I will talk to them. I need to figure out…" she cut off.

"Figure out what?" he said.

"Nothing. But I am taking over because I need to help him. So you step aside."

Suddenly the couple were sitting in chairs and Elena stood to the side as he tied them up.

"Why did you come to us?" he asked.

"I was going to ask for help… saving him. Now I realize that would have been pointless. I see now why the angels always looked down on you humans." Elena spat the last word out as if it was poison.

"You say that as if you're not human." Dean said warily.

Her eyes turned to him and flashed electric blue as suddenly the shadow of wings was casted on the walls by a flash of lighting and thunder. Dean's eyes widened.

"You're an angel? Fully? I thought that Gabriel had to…"

"Castiel figured it out. It was his reward. That is why I am with him. He's my creator." She said, avoiding his eyes.

Suddenly Sam and Bobby came in, catching sight of Elena with wide eyes.

"Okay. Yeah. Good. Hey, guys. Uh, so this is Dr. and Mrs. Weiss. Elena is here to… help us summon Death. Then she's gonna talk to him for a second."

"Hi. Sorry." Sam sighed at the couple before looking at Elena warily.

"The thing you need is over here." She said, walking to a display case and pointing at it.

"Why are you helping us?" Sam asked, uncertain of how to act around her since obviously wasn't their Elena.

"I want to help him, unlike you." she snapped.

"Well, let's light this candle." Bobby sighed.

They got ready for the spell but Elena ripped the paper out of Bobby's hands before he could speak.

"You're just going to botch it." she snapped before opening her mouth to recite the words in perfect Latin. "Te nunc invoco, mortem. Te in mea potestate defixi. Nunc et in aeternum!"

The room shook for a moment but then nothing happened. Dean turned in circles as they all looked around.

"Um... Hello? Death?" he questioned.

Another moment of silence before a voice rang out.

"You're joking."

They all turned to see the powerful being standing there.

"I'm sorry, Death. This isn't what it seems." Dean said hesitantly.

"Seems like you bound me." he said, holding up his wrists that were caught in magical glowing cuffs.

"For good reason, okay? Just, uh, hear us out. Um... fried pickle chip? They're the best in the state." Dean gestured to the fast food he brought.

"That easy to soothe me, you think? This is about Sam's hallucinations, I assume?" Death questioned.

"What?" Elena said as they all turned to look at the younger Winchester.

"Sorry, Sam. One wall per customer. Now unbind me." he demanded.

"We can't. Y-yet." Sam stammered.

"This isn't going to end well." Death sighed, shaking his head.

"We need you to kill God." Dean said.

"No!" Elena snapped furiously, glaring at him. "Fix him. We need you to help us fix him."

"Pardon?" Death asked.

"Kill God. You heard right. Your... Honor." Bobby said uncertainly.

Elena turned to glare at him too and her hand twitched at her side as she wished to hurt them both.

"What makes you think I can do that?" Death questioned.

"You told me." Dean reminded him.

"Why should I?" the horseman asked.

"Because... we said so, and we're the boss of you." Death raised his eyebrows at Dean's words. "I mean... respectfully."

"You are not killing him. I will not allow it. You forget that I did the spell. I have a say in what he does and he is not killing Cas." Elena growled at him.

"Amazing." They all turned to see Castiel standing there.

Elena's eyes widened in panic.

"Castiel I was just…"

His gaze fixed on her and she fell silent dutifully.

"Cas…." Sam began.

"I didn't want to kill you, but now..." he glared between Dean, Sam and Bobby.

"You can't kill us." Dean warned him.

"You've erased any nostalgia I had for you, Dean." He said, raising his hand.

"Death is our bitch. We ain't gonna die, even if God pulls the trigger." Dean said quickly.

Castiel hesitated, glancing at the horseman.

"Annoying little protozoa, aren't they? God? You look awfully like a mutated angel to me. Your vessel's melting. You're going to explode." Death informed him.

Elena looked at him with horror.

"No, I'm not. When I've finished my work, I'll repair myself." He argued.

"You think you can because you think you're simply under the weight of all those souls, yes? But that's not the worst problem. There are things much older than souls in Purgatory, and you gulped those in, too." Death reminded him.

"Irrelevant. I control them." Castiel said confidently.

"For the moment." He replied.

"Wait… uh, what older things?" Dean questioned.

"Long before God created Angel and man, he made the first beasts… the Leviathans."

"Leviathans?" Dean and Elena asked at the same time.

"I personally found them entertaining, but he was concerned they'd chomp the entire petri dish, so he locked them away. Why do you think he created Purgatory? To keep those clever, poisonous things out. Now Castiel has swallowed them. He's the one thin membrane between the old ones and your home." Death said.

"Enough." Castiel snapped.

"Stupid little soldier you are." The horseman growled out.

"Why? Because I dared open a door that he shut? Where is he? I did a service, taking his place." Castiel said, walking forward.

"Service? Settling petty vendettas?" Death demanded.

"No. I'm cleaning up one mess after another… selflessly." He corrected the other, more powerful being.

"Quite the humanitarian." Death said sarcastically as they all watched.

"And how would you know? What are you, really? A flyswatter?" Castiel demanded.

"Destined to swat you, I think." Death replied easily.

"Unless I take you first." Castiel threatened.

"Really bought his own press, this one." The horseman said, glancing at Dean and Elena. "Please, Cas. I know God, and you, sir, are no God."

"All right, put your junk away, both of you. Look, call him what you want. Just kill him now!" Dean growled out.

"No!" Elena said. "I won't let yo…" her voice was cut off and her eyes bulged as she scraped at her throat.

They all stared at her with shock as she tried to talk and couldn't.

"And you have the guardian all twisted up, don't you. Gave her a few of your souls and now you've corrupted her too. She could die as well." Death said.

Dean stared at him, looking back at Elena and knowing that he couldn't lose her.

"Kill him." Dean repeated.

Death raised his hand to snap his fingers. Castiel beat him to it, glaring over at Dean as the chain broke.

"Thank you. Shall we kickbox now?" Death asked, moving away to sit and eat the pickle chips. "I had a tingle I'd be reaping someone very, very soon. Don't worry… not you." he said, glancing at the Weiss'.

Castiel glanced over at Elena, snapping his fingers and giving her the voice back that Death took. He leaned in a whispered in her ear, causing her to look surprised but to nod. Then he disappeared, leaving her there with him.

"Well, he was in a hurry." Death commented.

"What did he say to you?" Dean demanded of Elena.

Her cold, furious eyes fixed on him.

"He told me to watch you and make sure that you don't attempt anything again." She said, sounding as pissed as she looked, her fury barely contained in her voice.

* * *

"Yes, that's exactly why I'm running again… to save my constituents from the godless policies of my opponents. Couldn't have said it better myself." The female senator confirmed to the reporter as she walked through her campaign editors.

Castiel appeared at the doorway watching her disappear into a back room.

"Sir? Can I help you?" an aide asked, walking up to him.

"I'm here to see the Senator." Castiel replied simply.

"Um, regarding?" the man questioned.

"Abuse of power."

"Excuse me?" the aide said, sounding surprised.

"I am not petty." He mumbled before raising his voice. "I'm punishing a woman who causes poverty and despair in my name. I put your needs first. Don't you understand?"

The aide didn't reply, just staring at him with confusion.

"All of you. I am a better God than my father. How can I make you understand?" he said.

Suddenly the voices sparked up in his head again, calling his name, and he began laughing maniacally.

* * *

"Um..." Dean began.

"Shut up, Dean." Death snapped as he munched on pickle chips. "I'm not here to tie your shoes every time you trip. I warned you about those souls how long ago? Long enough to stop that fool. And here we are again, with your little planet on the edge of immolation."

"Well, I'm sorry. All right? I've been trying to save this planet, so maybe you should find somebody better to tip off!" Dean growled.

"Maybe I should spend my effort on a better planet. Well, it's been amusing." He got up to leave.

Wait, h-hold on, hold on. Just… can you give us something? You… you have to care a little bit about what happens to us. You have to tell us how to fix Elena." Sam stammered.

Elena fixed her glare on him now.

"You know, I really don't. But I do find that little angel arrogant."

"Great. Let's go with that." Dean nodded.

"You can break her free from whatever influence she's under." Death said, staring at Dean. "Just… remind her. When it comes to the Leviathan, your only hope is to have him return it all to Purgatory. Quickly."

"We need a door." Sam argued as Dean mulled over how to fix Elena by reminding her, whatever that meant.

"You have everything you need at that lab. Get him to return there and compel him to give up the power. You can probably use her for that?" Death said.

"But that door only opens in the eclipse, and that's over." Bobby reminded the horseman.

"I'll make another. 359 Sunday morning, just before dawn. Be punctual. Don't thank me. Clean up your mess. Try to bind me again, you'll die before you start. Nice pickle chips, by the way." he said before disappearing.

Dean glanced over at Elena to see her staring at the spot where Death disappeared.

"Do you have any idea how to remind you?" he asked.

She glared over at him.

"Go fuck yourself." Elena growled.

Dean smirked and shook his head. If only this was a fairytale and the magical kiss could cure her like it had in Celebration. Suddenly a light bulb went off in his head and he turned to her.

"Magic kiss… reminder." He breathed.

"What?" she said, confused.

Dean rushed forward and gathered her in his arms, pulling her in for a long and very passionate kiss. Elena froze at first like she would kill him for touching her but then she suddenly melted into the kiss, her arms wrapping around him and yanking him to her. Her hands slid into his hair as they kissed and kissed. Finally they broke away and, as if a chain had broken tethering her to Cas, she was their Elena.

Before he could get out a word, she looked horrified.

"Oh my God." She whimpered.

"Elena?" Dean said with uncertainty.

Her eyes went up to look at him, filling with terars and he knew that it worked. It did not, however, worked in a way that he planned.

"All those people… we killed them." She cried, clutching his shoulders as she began crying.

"Hey! Hey it wasn't you. It was… whatever those souls inside of you are. It wasn't you." he said, taking her face in his hands.

Her eyes widened and she looked even more terrified.

"The voices, Dean. They were so loud, so strong. The things they say, it's horrible. They are in control, they are telling us to do everything. I have to get to Cas. He still needs my help." She whispered.

"No but…" Dean began.

"I have to. I have to do this. He needs me." Elena said, gripping him.

"You can't. You have to stay…"

Before Dean could get another word out they were standing back in Bobby's study. Dean turned around several times but didn't find her.

"Dammit!" he growled.

* * *

Elena's hand went to her mouth as she appeared in the campaign office where she followed her bond to Castiel to. There was blood and dead people everywhere and he was unconscious on the ground.

"Castiel?" she bent down and shook him, causing him to jerk awake.

He looked up at her, horror in his gaze for the first time in what felt like forever.

"No. No. No." he whimpered as he looked around at his work.

* * *

"You want some coffee with that?" Sam asked as he watched Dean pour a whiskey.

"It's 600 p.m. somewhere." Dean shrugged.

"We got to hit the road. I mean, how are we supposed to get Cas to that lab by friggin' 359 a.m.?" Sam argued.

"We don't." Dean replied simply.

"What do you mean, we don't?"

"I mean, we can't bring the horse to water, and we can't make it drink. Why fool ourselves?" Dean snapped, glaring down at his hands.

"Dean, look, I know you think that Cas is gone…"

"It's 'cause he is." Dean growled.

"He's not! He's in there somewhere, Dean. I know it. Elena knows it or she wouldn't have gone to him again.

"No, you don't. She doesn't." Dean argued.

"No, I don't. But, look, I was pretty far gone sometimes myself, and never gave up on me." Sam argued.

"Yeah, and it turns out that you're about the same open book as you've always been. Hallucinations? Really? I got to find out from Death?" Dean snapped, glaring up at him from where he was sitting at the kitchen table.

"What was I supposed to do?" Sam sighed.

"How about not lie? How about tell me that you've got crazy crap climbing those walls?"

"Why? You can't help." Sam shrugged, sitting down. "You got a lot of pretty severe crap swinging your way lately, and… and I thought… what? I thought why burst the one good bubble you had left? It's under control."

"What? What, exactly, is under control?" Dean demanded.

"I know what's real and what's not." He said.

"Sam…"

"Dean, look, we can debate this once we deal with Cas."

"Yeah, you know how I'm gonna deal? I'm gonna stuff my piehole, I'm gonna drink, and I'm gonna watch some Asian cartoon porn and act like the world's about to explode because it is." Dean said, opening his computer.

"Hey. You got to be kidding me. 'Massacre at the campaign office of an incumbent Senator by a trench-coated man'. There's security footage."

He turned the computer to show a complete bloodbath at the campaign office. Castiel was looking up at the videocamera with an insane grin that made chills run down both of their spines.

"Well, I think reaching Cas is, uh... out of the cards." Dean said, turning the computer back to search lighter topics.

Sam walked outside, needing some fresh air and to talk.

"Hey, Castiel… Elena? Um... maybe this is pointless. Look... I don't know if any part of you even cares, but, um, I still think you're one of us, both of you, deep down. I mean, way, way, way off the reservation, but... look, we still have till dawn to stop this. Let us help. Please." He pleaded.

Nothing happened, no one showed up or anything. Sam let his head fall for a moment before turning to walk back inside. The sounds of cartoon porn reached his ears and Dean caught sight of him, pouring another glass of whiskey and sliding it across the table towards him.

"Only if you turn that off." Sam said, pointing at the computer.

Dean closed it and Sam sat down, taking the drink and sipping at it.

"Sam?"

They both looked up with shock to see Elena and Castiel standing in the doorway to the kitchen and study.

"Cas. Elena." Sam said as he stood along with Dean.

Elena was supporting Castiel as he was covered in blood and weak.

"We heard your call." She said, looking between Dean and Sam. "We need help."

* * *

"We need the right blood. There's a small jar… end of the hall, supply closet." Elena instructed Sam as she kneeled beside the incredibly weakened Castiel on the ground.

"Got it." he nodded before walking out of the same lab that they were in before with Raphael still all over the place.

"Dean?" Cas glanced over at the older Winchester brother.

"What, you need something else?" Dean asked gruffly as he pushed aside some shelving to get at a wall.

"No. I feel regret, about you and what I did to Sam… and Elena." he said, his eyes flashing up to meet hers.

"Yeah, well, you should." Dean snapped, making Castiel feel worse.

"If there was time, if I was strong enough, I'd… I'd fix him now. I just wanted to make amends before I die."

Elena remained silent, knowing this didn't involve her directly.

"Okay." Dean said simply.

There was a beat of silence.

"Is it working?" Cas asked.

"Does it make you feel better?" Dean asked, rolling his eyes impatiently.

Elena wanted to shoot him a disapproving look but he had every right to be angry.

"No. You?" Castiel asked.

"Not a bit." Dean snapped.

* * *

Sam grabbed the jar off of the shelf before turning to walk back. Suddenly he was face to face with someone he never expected to see again.

"I know. It all seems so silly, doesn't it? Hi, Sam. Long time, no spooning." Lucifer said in Nick's form.

"You're not here. You're in Hell." He breathed, stepping away.

"Now, that you're right on." Lucifer nodded.

"Meat hooks... chains... you. It's not real. It's just my brain leaking memories from the cage 'cause of the wall breaking down. That's all." Sam tried to convince himself.

"Hmm. That's very good, your little theory. It's wrong. Sam, this isn't you going guano. Everything else is."

Sam stared at him.

"What?" he asked.

"Everything... from the second you sprung out of that lock box." Lucifer said triumphantly.

"That's impossible." Sam breathed.

"No. Escaping was impossible. I have to say, I think this is my best torture yet… make you believe that you're free and then... Yank the wool off of your eyes. You never left, Sam. You're still in the cage... with me."

* * *

Bobby leaned down, patting Castiel's shoulder.

"Hang in there. Just a couple of minutes." He assured him before standing and looking at Dean and Elena, who were side-by-side with their heads bent together talking in low tones.

"Where's Sam? It's go time." Bobby hissed at them.

Dean glanced around before moving to walk out of the room.

"Sam?! Damn it." he called as he stomped down the hallway.

"Elena." Cas said weakly.

She walked to him and knelt at his side once more. He took her hand and Bobby could have sworn he saw something slip into it before Castiel whispered in her ear. Her face betrayed her shock at what he was saying before she covered it.

"Why?" she murmured.

"Because I trust you." he answered. "And I owe you so much."

Dean came running back in, holding the jar and claiming that they would have to search for Sam, who was missing, after the ritual. Elena took the blood from him and began drawing the sigil from memory, whatever Cas gave her shoved in her pocket.

"That's good enough." she said, stepping away and wiping her hand off.

"Okay, step right up, Cas." Bobby said as he and Dean helped him up.

Elena took him and they both stood before the wall with Dean and Bobby behind them. Elena was gripping his arm to keep him upright.

"Ianua magna purgatorii, clausa est ob nos lumine eius ab oculis nostris retento sed nunc stamus ad limen huius ianuae magnae et demisse fideliter perhonorifice paramus aperire eam." Bobby recited.

Castiel glanced back behind them.

"I'm sorry, Dean." He said roughly before turning back to the wall.

"Creaturae terrificae quarum ungulae et dentes nunquam tetigerunt carnem eius ad mundum nostrum nunc ianua magna, aperta tandem!"

Suddenly the wall broke open and, after a moment, a bright light ripped its way out of their chests and flew into the large hole that led to purgatory. Bobby and Dean shielded their eyes until the hole was closed. When they looked up, Elena was on the ground with Castiel's head lying in her lap and his body still.

"Cas?" Dean and Bobby ran to them and collapsed down next to the body to see what happened.

"He's cold." Bobby said as he felt his skin.

Elena wasn't watching them, instead watching Cas for any signs of life. She refused to believe that he was dead. This was Cas, he didn't die, not for good anyway.

"Is he breathing?" Dean asked.

"No." Bobby said.

"Maybe angels don't need to breathe." Elena reminded them.

"He's gone." Bobby said softly.

Dean groaned and stood along with the older hunter while Elena remained there, tears sliding down her cheeks as she refused to believe it.

"Damn it. Cas, you child." Dean snapped. "Why didn't you listen to me?"

Suddenly the angel's face and body healed of the wounds and sores and he inhaled sharply. A sigh of relief overcame Elena as Dean and Bobby dropped down again, all of them helping him sit up.

"Cas?! Hey! Hey! Okay. All right." Dean said as they helped.

"That was unpleasant." Castiel said after a moment.

"Let's get him up. Easy, there." Dean said as they pulled him up to a standing position.

Elena was standing beside him looking up at him with wonder.

"I'm alive." Cas said, shocked.

"Looks like." Bobby nodded.

"I'm astonished. Thank you… all of you."

"We were mostly... just trying to save the world." Bobby said.

Castiel nodded, looking down at his feet.

"I'm ashamed. I really overreached." He admitted.

"You think?" Dean scoffed.

The now-angel looked at him sadly.

"I'm gonna find some way to redeem myself to you. Elena is back to normal and I will continue to make it up to you as much as I can." Cas said.

"All right, well, one thing at a time. Come on. Let's get you out of here. Come on." Dean said, pulling him towards the exit.

"I mean it, Dean." Cas said, stopping him.

Dean read the seriousness on his face and the pleading look on Elena's before he nodded.

"Okay. All right. But let's go find Sam, okay?"

They turned towards the exit but Cas suddenly shoved them all away.

"You need to run now! I-I can't hold them back!" he growled, hunching over.

"Hold who back?" Dean demanded, panicking as they all were now, the atmosphere of the room completely changed.

"They held on inside me. Dean, they're so strong." he hissed, clutching at his stomach.

Elena suddenly knew exactly what was going on.

"Who the hell…?" Dean began.

"Leviathan! I can't fight them. Run!" Castiel yelled, wanting to get them away from him.

"Go! Go get Sam! Go get Sam!" Dean said, shoving Bobby towards the door as Castiel convulsed.

Suddenly Elena flew backwards and hit the wall, slamming to the ground and looking up with horror as blood trickled down her head.

"Too late!"

The voice wasn't Cas. The look wasn't Cas. But this didn't quite occur to Dean.

"Cas?" he said hesitantly.

The creature grabbed him, yanking him in.

"Cas is… he's gone. He's dead." The thing shrugged, smirking proudly. "We run the show now."

He threw Dean across the room and onto a metal table that flipped over, taking Dean with it. He sat up with a groan in time to see Bobby thrown across as well. Elena staggered to her feet and hurried over to him, pressing her hand to her headwound. A shadow fell over them and they both looked up to see the Leviathan in Cas's body looming over them.

"Oh, this is going to be so much fun." He said, grinning creepily at them as a maniacal laugh filled the room.

* * *

**Thank you so much for reading. Review please!**

**In the next chapter, you find out what Cas gave to Elena and told her. Also, at the end, a surprise character shows up ready to give Elena some answers. And they will be shocking. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own TVD or Supernatural**

**Thanks to neontreeslover, CherrySin, JMHUW, DamonSalvatorelover789, Nyssandria, RHatch89, imusic247, Dean Winchester Rocks, SwanQueen4055, DrawingMyHeartOut, MaddAlice, chiwi, Dark-Supernatural-Angel, xxPaige23xx, Thenchick, TheElegantFaerie, gottaloveva, Elena Gilbert 14, and hcs5059 for reviewing!**

**A few things:**

**1. Italics is Lucifer talking.**

**2. Something to remember: Leviathan are stronger than angels.**

**3. Elena's outfits on my profile.**

* * *

Elena clenched Dean's hand, watching with horror as the Leviathan turned to Bobby's unconscious body, walking towards him with slow steps. Dean noticed his path as well, sitting up as he winced in pain.

"Bobby?" Dean called, wanting the man to sit up and get away.

After a few moments and the Leviathan pausing in their steps, Bobby stirred, sitting up with a dazed look but he was alive.

Dean and Elena both sighed with relief before Dean turned to distract the Leviathan.

"How many of you ass-clowns are in there? A hundred? More?" he questioned.

The creature didn't look at them. Elena was thankful for that. She didn't want to look in the vessel's eyes and know that Cas wasn't there. Suddenly they saw black fluid mixed with blood dripping out of the trenchcoat sleeve, soaking the tan fabric.

"Your vessel's gonna explode, ain't it?" Dean realized. "Wouldn't do anything too strenuous. In fact, I'd call it a day, head on home, huh?"

The Leviathan turned to them, the black fluid dripping out of its eyes and nose.

"We'll be back. For you." the voice was strangely echoing as if many different monsters were speaking at once.

He turned slowly to walk out, his steps heavy and clumsy as he staggered. Elena felt her heart pounding as her mind wouldn't quite catch up with what was going on.

"Well, this is a new one." Bobby commented.

"No." she whispered, shaking her head.

"Elena?" Dean said, watching as she stood slowly.

Their eyes widened when they watched her push herself towards the door, following the Leviathan on their path.

"Elena!" Dean hissed, trying to call her back.

* * *

"You're not real." Sam choked out as his hallucination of Lucifer held him against the wall with his hand around his throat.

"Right. You think this fruit-bat fever dream is reality? You come back, I'm sorry, with no soul like some peppy American Psycho, till Saint Dean glues you back together again by buying you some magic amnesia."

Just as Sam began to see black clouding his vision, Lucifer let him drop and he inhaled sharply, clutching at his burning throat.

"You're real. I'm very real. Everything between is what we call set dressing." Lucifer said, gesturing around.

"No." he snapped, refusing to believe him.

"You're still in my cell. You're my bunkmate, buddy. You're my little bitch, in every sense of the term." Sam dropped his eyes, refusing to look at the hallucination.

"Sam. Sam." Lucifer called tauntingly.

"Sam!" he jerked his body out when Dean grabbed his jacket and looked around wildly to see that Lucifer was gone.

"You hearing me?" Dean said, putting a hand on his chest to steady him.

Sam didn't answer, his eyes wide and fearful.

"Look at me. Hey."

Sam looked into his brother's eyes to see them looking concerned and afraid as well.

"All right, we got to button this up." Dean said, knowing that they couldn't deal with this there and that they had to find Elena before she did something stupid. "Come on, let's get out of here. Come on."

Sam stumbled out after them, still looking around to see if Lucifer was there. He was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

They ran outside and through a gate leading to a water reservoir. Elena was standing by the edge with her hands over her mouth as the Leviathan waded into the water. Dean walked up beside her, pulling her trembling body into his as they watched their former angel disappear under the water. A whirlpool appeared, swirling around for a few moments before black liquid radiated from it, spreading out through the water before disappearing. Elena let out a whimper as they all watched.

"Aw, hell." Bobby cursed, looking at a sign at the edge of the reservoir that read, **Public Water Supply. No Swimming. No Fishing. No Boating.**

"Damn it." Dean snapped, pulling Elena closer as she buried her face in his neck.

"You said it. Those... whatever you call 'ems..." Bobby grumbled.

"Leviathan." Sam breathed.

"Right. If they're in the pipes, they got themselves a highway to anywhere." Bobby pointed out.

"Awesome." Dean sighed.

Elena pulled away from Dean looking out at the water. She stumbled to the edge and fell to her knees. Dean, Sam, and Bobby stood there, unsure of what to do as she reached out to touch the water.

"Please." She pleaded with no one in particular.

Her eyes filled with hot tears that quickly overflowed, her entire body convulsing with sobs for her lost angel.

"I don't care what he's done." Elena whimpered. "I don't care how many people he killed or the mess he left behind. Please! Don't let this be… don't…"

She lifted her head, looking up at the sky.

"Please bring him back. Please. He can fix it if you just…" She begged, praying that he listened.

"I can't… he can't be gone. I am begging you please! Gabriel! Michael! Please! You have to… help him! Help me!" She sobbed, her words getting less and less understandable as her wails overtook her.

Nothing was happening.

"Please." She said one last time before she fell forward onto her elbows, crying uncontrollably and hysterically.

"Cas." They heard her repeating over and over again.

Dean walked forward, putting his hands on her shoulders as he bent down.

"Elena… he's gone. Cas is…" she shoved away from him, looking at him with wide eyes.

"You don't know what he's done for me! He was there for me! When no one else could be, when I was invisible, when he was searching for God, he was still there! I need him! I don't care!" she screamed, half at Dean and half at the heavens. "Please just bring him back to me!"

Dean walked forward again, gathering her into his arms.

"I need him." she whimpered, letting him hold her this time.

"I know." He murmured, stroking her hair.

Elena moved her head and looked at the lake. Her eyes caught sight of something and Dean looked at her sharp gasp. He slowly moved away from her and walked to the water's edge, pulling the tan trenchcoat out. Elena bit her trembling lip as he folded it up in his hands. Then he turned to her and sighed. Elena whimpered again and launched herself into his arms, holding him tightly as she cried.

* * *

_Hey. Wake up, sunshine. Up and at 'em, atom man._

"Sammy."

Sam jerked awake to find Dean touching his chest to wake him up. He was asleep on the couch back at Bobby's.

"Whoa. That's twelve hours straight, I'm calling that rested." Dean said.

Elena walked in from the kitchen, holding out a bottle of water for Sam.

"Here."

She looked miserable. Her eyes were red and her hair was pulled away from her face into a limp ponytail.

"Hydrate, and uh, protein-ate." Dean said, handing Sam a protein bar before he pulled two chairs up to the couch.

"Breakfast in bed." Sam commented as Elena sat in her chair and put her hand on his back, rubbing it soothingly as she smiled at him.

It didn't reach her eyes. Sam knew very well that his brother and his almost sister were using his condition as a way to distract them from what just happened. He wanted to argue but he knew that they were glad for the relief from the dark thoughts of Castiel's death.

"Don't get used to it. Let me see that hand." Dean said, gesturing for the bandaged hand.

_Oh, he wants to hold your widdle hand. How sweet._

Sam tried to ignore Lucifer who was sitting behind Elena in his own chair with amusement on his face. Dean and Elena were focusing on his hand as Dean unwrapped the bandage. Elena winced when she saw the large cut from the glass.

"Are you sure you don't want me to heal that, Sam?" she said softly, glancing over at him.

"No, I don't. I want it to heal up on its own." he said, not really knowing why he wanted that.

For some reason, he felt like it was important that he kept the wound instead of letting her heal it.

"Eh, you'll live." Dean said as he inspected the stitches.

He moved out of his chair and grabbed a whiskey bottle and a rag from Bobby's desk.

"Here."

Elena held the rag under Sam's hand as Dean poured the alcohol over the wound. Sam winced and groaned as she gave him a sympathetic look.

"All right, take it easy." Dean said as Sam inhaled sharply and Elena dabbed the wound to get rid of the excess alcohol.

Bobby walked back in with the first aid kit and handed it to Elena.

"So, ooze invasion. Any leads?" Sam asked, glancing around at them.

"I got all my feelers out." Bobby sighed, sitting in Dean's vacated chair.

Sam held his hand out and Elena slowly and gently wrapped it up again in a fresh bandage.

"Whatever they're up to, it ain't about going Mothra down Main Street. They'll turn up. You seem pretty eager to stretch your legs, you know." Bobby commented, watching Sam as Elena bandaged his hand.

She glanced over at Dean with a message in her eyes and the older brother sighed, sitting on the arm of the couch.

"Now onto our other big problem. How're you doin? And do not say okay." He said, staring at Sam.

"I'm not okay." He said simply, pulling his hand away from Elena once she finished.

"You think?" Dean snapped.

"Hey. Go a little easy." Bobby urged him.

"There's nothing easy about it, Bobby, okay. We acted like he had everything under control." Dean said accusingly , sounding frustrated and angry.

"I get it. I'm sorry. Look, I- I didn't exactly want to crack up, you know?" Sam pointed out.

"What the hell happened back there?" Dean demanded.

Sam dropped his eyes, looking fearful and resigned at the same time.

"Well, it's not just flashbacks any more."

"What is it?" Elena asked, concern in her voice more than anything.

"It's more like... I'm seeing through the cracks." He sighed.

"What does that mean?" Dean demanded.

"It means I'm having a difficult time figuring out what's real." Sam replied.

"Hallucinations." Elena realized, rubbing her forehead.

"For starters." Sam nodded, sounding as though he was apologetic for bringing this to their plate when they had so much to deal with.

"Well for starters, if you're tripping Hell's Bells, why would you hide that?" Dean half-yelled.

"I wasn't hiding it, Dean, I… I was just not talking about it. I mean it seemed like you three had enough going on as it was. Look, I… I just figured, try to hold onto the safety bar and ride it out, you know? But it's getting more specific." Sam explained, remorse in his voice.

"As in specifically what?" Dean asked, looking like he didn't really want to know the answer.

A few minutes later, the males were all gathered in the study. Elena was in the kitchen on the phone with Bonnie to see if there was anything the witch could do. She was trying to sound strong but they could see that she looked like she was about to break down again. Dean was pouring two glasses of whiskey for him and Bobby.

"What the hell, Sam?" he said, all of the anger gone now that they knew what Sam was dealing with.

"I told you." he sighed.

"I mean seriously, how do you, how do you argue with that?" Dean stammered, not even sure of what to say.

"I know. It's a problem." Sam agreed.

They heard Elena sigh and they looked to see her walk into the study.

"Bonnie is going to look into it. But…"

"She's not going to find anything." Sam said confidently.

They all looked at him, unwilling to argue because they were skeptical about the witch's ability to figure it out as well.

"Well now wait, I got it. Why would the Devil holodeck you a whole new life when he could just kick your ass all over the Cage?" Dean asked, facing Sam.

"Cause, as he puts it..."

_You can't torture someone who has nothing left for you to take away._

Sam sighed as he heard Lucifer say it along with him.

_Very good, Sam._

Elena saw Sam's eyeline go to a certain place in the room before he looked back at Dean. She watched with a furrowed brow as she leaned against the doorway.

"Okay, fine. But this Malibu dream mansion that he, he, he makes for you to take away is this post-apocalyptic mess?" Dean scoffed, gesturing around.

_It had to be a mess, Sam, or you wouldn't believe it was your life._

They all saw Sam glance at the same spot and Elena moved forward, seeing the devastation and fear in Sam's eyes.

"Sam? Are you seeing him right now?" Elena asked softly, moving to squat in front of him.

He nodded, his eyes wide and childlike as he stared back at her. Elena bit her lip, knowing that he was terrified and she had no idea what to do to make it better.

"You know that he's not real. Right?" Dean said, trying to find any way to help his little brother.

Sam stared at the spot for a moment before glancing back at Dean with a guilty look.

"He says the same thing about you."

Dean looked at Elena, who refused to meet his eyes, before glancing back at Bobby for help.

"I'm going back to work." The older hunter sighed, turning to walk off.

* * *

Elena was upstairs taking a shower as the rest of them were downstairs. Bobby and Dean were in the kitchen as Sam remained in the study taking apart and putting back together his guns. Dean was leaning over Bobby's chair looking at the computer on the table.

"Well, at least he's not curled up under the sink." Bobby said, glancing up at Sam.

"Yeah, no, he's just sitting there silently field-stripping his weapon." Dean commented, moving to Sam's jacket that was slung over the other chair.

Bobby watched as he took Sam's phone out and began messing with it.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Turning on his GPS, case he decides to fly the cuckoo's nest." Dean replied.

Bobby nodded, realizing that it was a good idea.

"And you? How are you doing?" he asked, tilting his head to the side as Dean sat down.

"Seriously Bobby, it ain't like he's hexed, you know? I mean, what if it's the kind of crazy you can't fix?" Dean sighed, shaking his head.

"Yeah, I'm… I'm worried too, but humor me for a second. How are you?"

Dean looked up at him with surprise.

"Who cares? Don't you think our mailbox is a little full right now? I'm fine." He said dismissively.

"Right. And weren't you pissed at him when he said the same thing just a couple hours before he spilled his marbles all over the floor?" the other man reminded him.

Dean rolled his eyes and stood, walking to pour himself a cup of coffee.

"Yeah, well. I'm not Sam, okay? I keep my marbles in a lead friggin' box."

Bobby looked at him skeptically.

"I'm fine. Really." Dean assured him.

"Of course. Yeah. You just lost one of the best friends you ever had, your brother's in the bell jar, your girlfriend is stuck in a deep pit of depression and blame over all of this and Purgatory's most wanted are surfing the sewer lines, but yeah, yeah, I get it. You're… you're fine." Bobby said sarcastically.

"Good." Dean snapped, not wanting to talk about this anymore.

"Course, if at any time you want to decide that's utter horse crap, well I'll be where I always am. Right here."

"What, you want to do couples' yoga, or you want to get back to hunting the big bads?" Dean questioned, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Shut up. Idjit." Bobby scoffed.

* * *

"Yeah? Up yours, Manny, I still got point-oh-six on your time." One of the male swimmers in the high school locker room said jokingly, nudging his friend.

Two more swimmers walked in looking rather different than normal.

"Hey, where were you guys?"

"I guess we got here early. Heard something weird come from the showers." One of the students said.

The other young man walked to the door, closing and locking it.

"Hey, what are you doing, Williams? You're going to get in trouble."

"Yes, Scott, I probably am." Williams said before throwing the swimmer against the wall.

The other swimmer was suddenly crouched up on the lockers.

"What Williams is trying to say, Scott, is that we're too hungry to care."

He launched down and blood was spattered on the walls as the swimmers screamed.

* * *

"...crying to the ER nurse, screaming Mother Mary mercy, and when they opened her back up, three sponges and a set of clamps, sewn up inside like she was a living piñata. You can't trust these people."

Jodie Mills nodded, a little scared and disbelieving about the woman's story. She was sharing a room with the paranoid old lady in her stay at the hospital.

"Afternoon, ladies."

They both turned to see Dr. Gaines, their surgeon, walk into the room.

"Oh hello, Doctor!" the old woman said, smiling politely at him.

"Hi, Dr Gaines." Jody said with a grin as he sat beside her bed in a chair.

"So, Ms Mills. You did excellent today. Just as we discussed, it was a textbook appendectomy." He assured her.

"That's good." She sighed with relief.

She wasn't going to lie and say that the surgery didn't concern her.

"But you have been through a serious surgical procedure, and you know, I know you're tough, but I want you to take it easy tonight." Dr. Gaines said.

"Works for me, Doc." Jody agreed.

"The good news: I've put you down for some pretty fun painkillers." He said, standing up and replacing her chart at the end of the bed.

"Ooh." she said, interested in that idea.

"I'll check in on you first thing. You'll be home in no time." he said with a grin before walking out.

"Charming, isn't he?" the old woman said skeptically. "Did you know a study showed three quarters of doctors cheat on their exams? He might not know your appendix from your vagina."

Jody grimaced, turning back to lay down and stare at the ceiling.

* * *

Elena walked downstairs to find Dean sitting at a chair watching Sam as his brother surfed around on his computer. She sighed and walked to him, wrapping her arms around his neck loosely. He leaned back, exhaling softly as his eyes slid closed and he let his alert body relax in her embrace.

"You wanna get out of here?" she murmured.

Dean's eyes opened and he looked at her with confusion.

"We don't have any groceries and if we're going to keep Sam here for a while we're going to need them." Elena assured him.

"Yeah, let's go." he agreed after thinking for a moment.

Sam glanced up as they stood.

"We're going to get food. Do you want anything in particular?" Elena asked, smiling at him with that same fake smile.

"No, just whatever you get." He said, looking between them.

* * *

"Bobby told me he handed something to you. What did he give you?" Dean asked as they walked among the aisles of the store.

Elena sighed and bit her lip, throwing a loaf of bread into the cart.

"A key." She answered.

"A key? To what?" he asked.

"I don't know yet. He said that it would help me. That it was the most valuable thing that he could think to give me."

Elena cut off, her eyes burning as she squeezed his hand.

"The asshole didn't realize that the most valuable thing he could give me was… him… not dead."

Dean sighed, pulling her in and kissing her forehead.

"It'll be okay." He said, knowing the words were empty as soon as he said them.

Elena turned her eyes on him, the dark orbs shining with tears.

"How?" she asked.

Dean didn't know what to say.

* * *

"Hey there Gunga Din, buck up." Bobby said when Dean entered with grocery bags, Elena following him with more.

They both gave the older hunter confused looks.

"So it looks like we got some bad news for a change." Sam said, reading from his computer as Elena and Dean exchanged wary looks. "Stockville North Kansas, most of a high school swim team got mangled to death in their locker room."

"Cop talk on the wire's kind of garbled, saying it looks like some kind of wild animal attack. They're saying that whatever attacked them's about the size of a linebacker." Bobby informed them.

Dean sighed heavily, rubbing his forehead.

"It's a lead, Dean." Sam said.

"All right, but if you think you're going out on a hunt..." he began.

"No, I know. I'm not." Sam cut him off. "But you two are. Look, Bobby's running the hub, I'm… I'm 5150'd, which leaves you to follow this thing up."

"Sam, you're in the middle of a psychotic break." Elena argued.

"It's a couple hours' drive and it could be a Leviathan thing." He replied.

"Nah, if you think I'm leaving you here alone..." Dean said, shaking his head.

"Hey. What am I, chopped brains on toast?" Bobby interrupted him. "I can eyeball the kid. Go. Work off some of these nerves on something useful."

Dean looked at Elena and she shrugged. He sighed again and nodded.

"Fine." He agreed.

* * *

The man walked up to the playground, able to smell his fellow monster from miles away. He walked to the swings and sat on the other, facing the opposite way as the little girl.

"You got yourself an awfully small body." He said.

"Too small. She didn't know anything. Can't even see over the counter." The girl sighed, her long dark hair pulled back with a light purple barrette that matched her dress.

"Well this one, Edgar… Edgar worked on something called a demolitions crew. Watching things blow up is apparently very satisfying."

"Annie? Knew where babies come from. Disgusting, by the way." the girl commented. "I'm hungry. We all are."

"Yes, about that." the man said, glancing over at her.

"I'm sorry!" she said defensively.

"Sorry? They ate the swim team."

"Like I said, hungry." She glared over at him.

"That's no excuse." He replied.

"Well what do you want me to do?" the possessed little girl demanded.

"Get them in line. I don't care how. For God's sake, it made the papers. Look, the boss, honestly, he just wants to hear it's taken care of, so take care of it. Quickly. I don't like bringing him bad news. Are we clear?"

She nodded.

"Actually, I have an idea. I could use your help."

* * *

Dr. Gaines looked around as he walked down the hallway. The sound of humming reached his ears and he glanced behind a privacy screen to see a little girl sitting on a bed kicking her feet back and forth

"Little girl, can I help you?" he asked, smiling at her.

"Are you a Dr Sexy?" she asked, tilting her head to the side as she remembered what she watched on television.

"Uh, I'm a surgeon. Where are your parents?" he replied.

She shook her head.

"Is it true? Surgeons can just cut into whatever body they want?" she asked eagerly.

"What?" he said, chuckling as he thought it was a joke.

"And remove whichever organs they please?"

"Where in the world did you hear s…"

"I want to be a surgeon when I grow up!" she cut him off.

Her hand shot out and she grabbed his arm roughly, squeezing tightly as her grin disappeared.

"Ow! Let me go!" he yelled out.

Bones cracked as he dropped to his knees.

"And I want to grow up now!"

Dr. Gaines watched in horror as the little girl morphed to an exact image of himself. He let out a yell just before the monster dove on him and blood was splattered everywhere.

* * *

Elena and Dean walked up to the officer stationed outside the locker room and flashed their badges. A man inside the room glanced over at them.

"Special Agent Anderson. Ian. This is Special Agent Goodwin. Elysa." He said.

"Yeah, okay. Our point cop's out on the donut. Forensics." The man indicated himself as they ducked under the yellow tape. "I can show you the layout. And step lightly. We got a whole bunch of NC17 shiznickel right over there."

Dean and Elena both looked at him with raised eyebrows at his word choice.

"Right." Dean said slowly.

They glanced around to see blood splattered all over the place. Elena followed him back to the showers. She peeked into them as he looked around the corner.

"Hey." She whispered.

He turned and Elena pointed at the black ooze on the wall of the shower

"Dammit." He sighed.

* * *

Jody's eyes fluttered open as she heard voices.

"Just breathe deeply."

She caught sight of Dr. Gaines attempting to put a breathing mask on her roommate.

"But my surgery isn't till tomorrow." The old woman argued.

"Just breathe deeply. I'm Dr Sexy. Your surgery is when I say it is." He said, putting the mask on her and forcing her into a deep sleep.

Jody feigned sleep as he wheeled her out of the room, alarm bells going off in her head. Once he was gone, her eyes popped open again.

"Huh. Not weird at all." She commented as she sat up.

After a few moments, she slid out of her bed to follow him.

* * *

Sam sighed as his phone rang. He looked across the kitchen table at his hallucination of Lucifer who was reading a newspaper.

"Yeah." He said once he answered.

"Well, we are positive for ick. Same kind of stuff that came out of Cas, and, uh, two of the swim kids were missing… they stole one of their parents' cars."

_You know, I really think Price William has found the right girl. What do you think?_

"So you think these, um, these Leviathan things just jump into people? Like Eve did?" Sam questioned.

"I don't know, it makes sense, right? Anyway, uh, state trooper's got surveillance cam on the kids about six hours old, of them gassing up just south of Dakota line, so we're headed back your way. We'll just track them from Bobby's."

"Yeah, sounds good." Sam agreed.

"Hey! How are you doing?" Dean said, stopping him from hanging up.

Sam glanced at Lucifer again, who smirked back at him.

"You know, uh, okay."

"Okay. Well hang in there, all right?" Dean said before hanging up.

_Just okay? Man, I'm having a great day._

* * *

Jody lost sight of the surgeon as they entered the Organ Transplant Unit, which was strange because the ward was closed for renovations. When she reached the operation room, she watched with horror as Dr. Gaines bent over her roommate, removing her liver and lifting it to his mouth. Jody gasped and pushed herself away from the door, hurrying back down the hallway as quickly as she could. A nurse came across her, studying her panicked expression.

"Ms Mills, what are you doing out of bed? Are you okay?"

Jody stared at her for a moment before collapsing in a dead faint.

When she woke up, she felt that she was back in her bed.

"Ms Mills, you gave us all a scare." The nurse said, taking her blood pressure.

"What? No, uh..."

Everything that Jody saw flashed through her head.

"You can't be wandering around the halls like that in your condition."

"He t… he took..." she tried to stammer out.

She glanced at the other empty bed.

"What? Who?" the nurse asked, confused.

Jody glanced up in time to see the doctor walk in looking as charming as ever.

"Dr Gaines?" she asked with uncertainty.

"Ms Mills. We told you to take it easy, remember?" he berated her with a smile.

"Of course. I…"

"What in the world were you doing, wandering the halls like that?" Dr. Gaines asked, taking her hand and causing her to flinch lightly.

"Nothing. Um, my stitches were itching and I just wanted to know if that was normal, and I must have fainted or something. My stitches feel fine now." She said hurredly.

"Ms Mills, you can't get out of bed. You could have ripped open your sutures with a fall like that. Don't make me go back in there. Okay?"

Jody nodded quickly at his thinly veiled threat. The nurse moved forward to inject something into her IV drip and she panicked.

"What's that?" she demanded.

"Just something to help you sleep." The nurse replied.

"No, that's okay, I'll sleep just fine." Jody refused.

"Doctor's orders. I'll check on you later." Dr. Gaines said, patting her hand before walking out with the nurse.

Jody waited a few minutes to make sure that they were gone. Then she broke into action, yanking her IV out and sliding out of bed. She pulled her handbag out of the drawer and moved towards the door.

"You can kiss my ass, Doctor Monster-Face." she snapped.

As she walked, she sagged against the bed showing that the medicine had taken effect.

"Oh no." Jody breathed.

* * *

Sam paced as his Lucifer hallucination swung a fireplace poker like a golf club.

"Okay, if this is some dream and you got power over it, why don't you just end it?" he demanded.

_End it? This? You not knowing what's real, the paint slowly peeling off your walls, come on, man, this is the sweet spot! Why would I end it? Not like we got HBO in the Pit. All I got is you, floating over the coals with half a hope that you're gonna figure it all out. There's only one way to figure it out, Sam. It's up to you. It ends when you can't take it anymore._

Sam shook his head as Lucifer glanced at the guns on the desk.

_I think that's maybe why we're cleaning our guns._

"Shut up. I said shut up!" Sam shouted.

Bobby walked in looking wary.

"Hey, Sam. You, uh, having a little bag lady moment?" he asked.

"Sorry." Sam sighed, collapsing into a chair.

Bobby moved to the fridge and grabbed two beers, handing one to Sam.

"Thanks."

They both took a drink as silence reigned for a few moments.

"You know, after... everything. All these years, all that we've been through..."

"You beat the Devil before, kid." Bobby interrupted him, knowing where he was going.

"It's kinda different." Sam reminded him.

"Not really. You'll get a handle on this too. You will." Bobby said confidently.

Sam glanced over his shoulder to see Lucifer standing behind him with the poker.

"You're not in Hell anymore. You're here, with us."

Sam winced as Lucifer stabbed him with the poker with a smirk.

"You hear me, Sam?" Bobby asked, unaffected by the hallucination.

He nodded slowly.

"Yeah, I hear you, Bobby."

A phone ring pierced the air, interrupting their conversation.

"Oh. That's my local." He walked to it to answer. "Hello?"

"Bobby Singer? My surgeon is a monster." A female's voice said.

"Come again?" Bobby said, furrowing his brow.

"He took my windbag roomie and he ate her liver. Except he wasn't, he was no surgeon. Listen. His face, his mouth was this horrible…"

"Who is this?" Bobby demanded, interrupting her.

"It's Jody. Jody Mills." She said, sounding slightly panicky.

"Jody?" he said with uncertainty.

"Sheriff Mills." Jody sighed.

"Gotcha." He nodded.

"I can't exactly call a deputy here. You and I killed zombies that one time… I know you handle this kind of thing. Please get your ass here to Sioux Falls General before he eats me, Singer."

Jody hung up before he could say another word.

"Well, either Sheriff Mills is having an ObamaCare-insured opium dream, or something's eating folks down at Sioux Falls General Hospital." Bobby said, grabbing his jacket before turning to face Sam. "Look, I don't want to bruise your ego or anything, but..."

"No, no, no, it's okay. Go, go, go. I'll… I'll watch the phones." Sam said, nodding.

Bobby nodded back and turned to walk out.

_So, just you and me, huh?_

* * *

The nurse at the reception of the hospital glanced up with shock when she saw the two young men standing at her counter with cuts and bruises.

"What happened to you two?" she demanded.

"I did." Edgar said, stepping up to the desk. "Where's Dr Gaines?"

"Oh no, that's not how it works, okay? If you require a physician's attention, you're going to have to fill out these forms." She said, holding them up.

Dr. Gaines seemingly appeared at their sides.

"I can take over from here, nurse. These youths obviously require immediate care."

He turned to lead the boys and Edgar down the hallway towards the operation rooms.

"This is where they bring their bodies to be fixed. They consider it a safe place. But the truth is, often they actually die here instead. And they never question it! I'm not kidding."

They entered the room to see a woman, the nurse, and a man, an administrator of the hospital, both tied up.

"We can feed discreetly. Who will know? A few of us in the right positions, and we can feast every single day. I'm thinking head nurse and the staff administrator first."

"I have to hand it to you. That's exactly what the boss asked for." Edgar commented.

"Out of the box thinking." Dr. Gaines said proudly.

"Yes. You're off the swim team, boys. Time to pursue a career in medicine." Edgar gestured to the employees.

The boys approached the two with similar smirks.

"All right. Check in." Edgar said, turning to walk off.

"You won't stay? I would love to grab us a good anesthesiologist." He offered.

"He asked me to check into some other business in the area." Edgar informed him.

Dr. Gaines nodded.

"Anyway, it seems you've got things well in hand."

He glanced back to see the boys grabbing the arms fo the nurse and the administrator.

"Why can't they scream?" Edgar questioned.

"Oh, I severed their vocal cords, of course. It was a delicate procedure, but very doable." Dr. Gaines said just before blood flew all over the place.

* * *

Sam was assembling his gun once again with a stopwatch when he heard the car pull up. He grimaced at his time but stood, walking towards the door. Elena and Dean walked in holding hands.

"Dean. Where's Elena" Sam asked.

"Hey. She's with Bobby working on his thing. Oh, yeah. Good thinking." Dean grabbed the beer out of his hand to take a drink.

Sam began to protest but gave up quickly.

"So we, uh, we followed those swim kid Levia-whatever..." Dean said.

"To where?" Sam questioned.

"Here. Back to town. And that ain't the good news." Dean continued.

"What?" Sam asked.

"It ain't just two of them, I don't think." He said.

"Did you call Bobby?" Sam said, sounding surprised.

"Yeah, he's working his own case, I gotta move and I need more back-up and that means you."

"Wait. You sure about that?" Sam asked.

Dean sighed heavily.

"I know, you're bonkers. But, luckily we just need you to keep the engine running and wait by the back door. Just don't, uh, don't let Satan change my presets. Let's go."

Dean turned to walk out the door and Sam followed with his gun and a jacket.

* * *

Bobby pushed Jody out of the hospital in a wheelchair as she talked a mile a minute.

"Her name's Mrs Hackett. She never came back." she said.

"I'll check it out. Now you get some rest. I'll come by later." He assured her.

"Bobby Singer. My hero." Jody sighed as they reached the taxi cab.

"That's the roofies talking." He informed her before helping her into the car and watching it drive away.

Once he got back inside, he went to the morgue. Almost immediately he found a freezer with Mrs. Hackett's name on it. He opened the locker and pulled the body out to read the chart.

"Foot surgery, huh. Died this morning." He grumbled, pulling the sheet back to look at the body.

He immediately found surgical slices on her torso.

"Already autopsied, what the hell?" he said, confused.

* * *

"How you doing, Sam? In the head region. Devil still riding shotgun?" Dean asked.

"Not right now, but... yeah." Sam confirmed.

"Maybe we ought to get you, I don't know..."

"Some… some what? Some... professional help? What are they gonna do, Dean, just stuff me full of pills. We'll figure out some other option." He said.

"Okay, yeah. But what are your other options? You remember when Martin took his nose-dive and started shooting at nothing? I mean his sweater unraveled fast." Dean reminded him.

"I'm not Martin." Sam argued.

"No, but you are crazy. That don't wash off. You get that, right? You are never going to be okay, Sam." Dean said bluntly.

* * *

Elena and Dean glanced around as they entered Bobby's house.

"Sam!" Dean called.

"Sam?" Elena repeated when there was no answer.

They exchanged a wary look and set about to find him.

"Sam?"

They repeated his name over and over again as they searched the house before meeting back in the kitchen.

"Oh, crap." Dean snapped angrily as dread filled them both.

* * *

Sam got out of the car, watching his brother as he looked up at the office building at the five people gathered on the third story.

"Oh, dammit. There's five of 'em. All right, come on." Dean decided, glancing back at him.

"Are you sure?" Sam asked with uncertainty.

"Yeah, and listen, when we get in there, you gotta keep it together." Dean said, looking at him with an expectant glare as they walked up to the building.

"Yeah, yeah, I – I will, I –" he stammered.

"'Cause if you're seeing Lucifer, then you could be seeing all kinds of crap, okay? You just don't know." He said as they approached the door.

"How is this helping?" Sam demanded angrily.

"I'm just saying, Sam, you're out of control." He sighed.

"I'm dealing with it the best I can." Sam argued.

"Dealing?" Dean let out a cold laugh that stopped Sam in his tracks. "Sorry, that's just funny, I mean how can you deal? You think this is an office building, right?"

Dean held the door open and Sam walked through, instantly realizing that it was a warehouse instead.

"Sorry. Wrong." He said tauntingly.

"Where the hell are we?" Sam turned around with an accusing look as the door slammed shut.

"Oh, you think I'm Dean! Right."

Dean smirked and immediately morphed into Lucifer.

_You poor clueless son of a bitch._

"Stay the hell away from me." Sam snapped, turning to walk around.

_Your world is whatever I want it to be, understand?_

Sam whirled back around and fired his gun several times.

"Leave me alone!" he yelled.

_Now we're getting there. Pinocchio's seeing his strings._

Sam turned back around to see him standing behind him.

"Shut up." He growled.

_It's the big crescendo._

"I said shut up!"

He fired his gun once more and Lucifer disappeared, reappearing behind him once again.

_Want to point that gun at someone useful? Try your face._

Lucifer walked closer to him.

_Want to know the truth? Want to skip to the last page of the book? You know where to aim._

He held his finger to the underside of his jaw before mimicking a sound to imply pulling the trigger.

* * *

"It's like a friggin' doggy bag in here!" Bobby sighed as he examined the poor old woman's insides, unable to recognize anything.

He heard a slam and looked up to see a doctor entering the room with a confused look.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"You can maybe still help this hospital!" Bobby yelled, trying to sound enraged as he held an ID up briefly. "Who's responsible for this sloppy bit of documentation?"

"I know you." Dr. Gaines said.

"No, you got the wrong guy." Bobby shook his head with refusal.

"Bobby... Singer. Yes. We saw you. Through the angel's eyes." he said.

Bobby grabbed a mallet off of the autopsy tray and slammed it across the monster's face. It did nothing.

"Well, let's try for amnesia, then." He said, yanking a shotgun out of his bag as Dr. Gaines through his head back and his mouth opened really wide, taking up his entire face with long pointed teeth and a forked tongue.

Bobby shot him once and his face returned back to normal as he dripped black ooze.

"Fair enough." Bobby said when he was otherwise unaffected.

He hesitated for a moment before turning to run out of the room.

* * *

When they pulled up to the warehouse, Dean and Elena practically launched out of the Impala without a second thought. They ran up to the door and Dean ripped it open. When they hurried inside, they saw Sam staring at a spot with horror and fear.

"Sam? Sam!" Dean yelled.

_Oh look. Another me._

Lucifer transformed back into Dean with a smirk.

"Sam, what are you doing?" Elena said, catching sight of the gun.

Sam lifted it and pointed it at Dean as they halted to a stop.

"Whoa, whoa!" Dean raised his hands in surrender.

"I was with you, Dean!" Sam said, panicking.

"Okay. Well, here I am." Dean informed him.

"He was with me the whole time, Sam." Elena confirmed.

"No. No, I don't, I..."

He glanced back at Lucifer and then back at Dean.

"I can't know that for sure. You understand me?"

"Okay, now we're gonna have to start small." Dean said with calmness.

"I don't remember driving here." Sam said with wide eyes.

_Well that's because I drove. You thought._

Lucifer turned to look at Elena and Dean as he transformed back to himself.

_Sam is very suggestible._

Sam shot at him as Elena and Dean startled at the sound.

"Whoa, whoa! Sam! This discussion does not require a weapons discharge!" Dean yelled.

Sam lowered his weapon as he breathed heavily.

"Look at me. Come on. You don't know what's real? Look man, I've been to Hell. Okay, I know a thing or two about torture. Enough to know that it feels different. Than the pain of this… this regular, stupid, crappy this." Dean said, gesturing around.

"No, no. How can you know that for sure?" Sam stammered.

Dean looked at Elena for help. An idea dawned in her eyes.

"Sam give Dean your hand."

Dean stared at her for a moment before turning back to his brother as he lifted his hand.

"No, no. Your hurt hand! Let him see it."

_Smell you, Florence Nightingale._

Sam looked at Lucifer as Dean grabbed his hand and realized what Elena was trying to do.

"Hey."

Sam's attention snapped back to him as he shook the hand.

"This is real. Not a year ago, not in Hell, now. I was with you when you cut it, I sewed it up! Look!"

He squeezed his hand and grabbed the barrel of the gun that Sam was holding. Lucifer appeared between Dean and Elena, flickering.

_We've done a lot more with pain._

Sam inhaled sharply as he winced.

"This is different. Right? Then the crap that's tearing at your walnut? I'm different. Right?" Dean urged him.

Sam took his hand away and Dean kept his gun.

"Yeah, I think so." he breathed.

_You sure about that, bunk buddy?_

Sam stared at Lucifer.

"Sam? Sam." Dean said desperately as Elena looked on helplessly.

Sam pressed onto the wound that began bleeding through the messed up stitches. Lucifer flickered a few more times.

_Doesn't mean anything._

"Hey. I am your flesh-and-blood brother, okay? I'm the only one who can legitimately kick your ass in real time. You got away. We got you out, Sammy." Dean assured him.

_Sammy. Sammy._

Sam continued to push his hand against the wound as he stared at Dean.

_Sammy, I'm the only one who can..._

Suddenly Lucifer flickered once more before disappearing altogether.

"Believe in that! Believe me, okay? You gotta believe me. You gotta make it stone number one and build on it. You understand?" Dean urged him.

Sam nodded, looking exhausted yet triumphant. Elena and Dean allowed themselves to feel a small sliver of hope.

"Yeah. Yeah, okay." He breathed.

Suddenly his phone rang.

"Bobby, hey." He said once he answered.

"The Sheriff was right. The hospital thing's definitely our kind of thing. I double-barreled one of them in the morgue. Silver buckshot… no effect. Bled black ooze." Bobby informed him as Sam put it on speaker phone

"Leviathan here?" Sam asked, shocked.

"I'm falling back. I'll meet you at the house. We can regroup." Bobby said.

Sam hung up, looking at them.

"Bobby's got a live one."

"Okay, well let's go." Dean grabbed Elena's hand and they exited with Sam following them.

* * *

"Look, when we get back to Bobby's…" Dean said, looking at his brother in the rearview as they approached the autoyard.

"It's okay, Dean, I'm good. No white rabbits." Sam laughed briefly. "I'm not seeing anything."

"Okay. Baby steps." Dean sighed, not willing to let himself hope too much.

Dean gave Sam a small smile that he returned. Elena was about to sigh with relief when they caught sight of Bobby's house.

"Fuck!" Dean yelled.

They leapt out of the car and looked on with horror at the house that was reduced to ashes and a wooden frame.

"Oh no." Elena whimpered, her hand pressed to her mouth.

* * *

They stumbled through the remains of the house separately, looking for anything salvageable and waiting for word on Bobby.

"Any sign of him?" Sam said, jogging up to Dean.

The older brother held up a blackened journal before tossing it over his shoulder. They walked through a workshop where Elena was.

"That place was torched. Somebody knew what they were doing." Dean commented.

"You think Bobby was back there?" Elena asked fearfully.

"I don't know." Dean said softly before gesturing for them to split up again.

Their voices rang out as they called for the older hunter desperately.

Dean yanked out his phone to make a call.

"This is Bobby Singer's direct hotline. You should not have this number."

The phone beeped after the voicemail.

Dean sighed before shaking his head.

"You cannot be in that crater back there. I can't... If you're gone, I swear…" Dean cut off, shaking his head. "You asked me how I was doing? Well, not good! Now you said you'd be here. Where are you?"

He hung up angrily.

"Bobby!" he heard Sam shout.

Suddenly Elena's scream filled the air and they both panicked, running back towards the house where they heard it. When they ran around the corner together, they saw Elena crumpled at the feet of a man.

"Winchesters. Congratulations. Apparently you two are competent enough to warrant annihilating. I'd take it as a compliment." Edgar said as they walked forward.

Dean ran towards him with fury and shot him in the side of the head with a shotgun. He watched with wide eyes as Edgar straightened up and looked at the black ooze on his hand. His mouth enlarged and showed his razor sharp teeth before returning to normal. He knocked Dean back with ease, throwing him into a car. Dean cried out when his leg cracked as he landed on the ground. Sam ran up to the Leviathan and punched him in the face. Sam looked up at the car hovering on the crane, shaking his hand out as it radiated pain.

"Dean, now!" he yelled as Dean picked up the controls for the hoist.

Edgar smashed Sam on the head with a crowbar, causing him to fly backwards and hit the ground hard. In the next moment, the car was released and came flying down on the monster, crushing him.

"Elena!" Dean yelled, staring at her unmoving form.

Her head seemed to be bent at an odd angle.

"Sam!"

He managed to drag himself over to his brother, who was unconscious. He grabbed his shirt and shook him a little.

"Sammy? Hey, come on now. Come on, I'm the one with the broken leg, you got to carry me. You got to get to Elena! Sam!"

Dean took his pulse and found it weaker than it should have been. In the next moment, he pulled his phone out and dialed 911 for the lack of a better plan.

* * *

Dean stared over at Sam, who was still unconscious, with panic as they flew down the street in the shared ambulance.

"What about the girl? What happened to her?" he demanded.

"I don't know." The medic said.

"Sam, stay with me, you hear?" Dean yelled as another paramedic examined him.

"Male, late twenties, head trauma. Signs of increasing intracranial pressure." The man driving said into his radio.

Sam's eyes flickered open and the first thing he caught sight of was Lucifer.

_Hey, so maybe I'm not real. Nobody's perfect. And I'm not going anywhere, Sam._

Sam's eyes suddenly rolled back in his head and he began having a fit on the gurney.

"Sam? Sammy?" Dean panicked even more.

"Yeah, he's seizing. Copy that. We're just pulling into Sioux Falls."

"Sioux Falls? Sioux Falls General? No, no, no. No, you gotta take us somewhere else, anywhere. Please." Dean pleaded.

"Yeah, okay, buddy." The medic said doubtfully.

Dean knocked his head against the pillow in distress as he knew that they didn't have a choice.

* * *

Back in the auto yard, the black ooze that escaped from the Leviathan's body suddenly began leaking back from the ground and Edgar's hand twitched as his body came back alive.

* * *

"_Cas?" Elena walked forward as she glanced around the meadow that she was in._

_Her dress was flowing around her ankles as she walked._

_The angel turned to look at her with a slight smile. Elena flew forward to embrace him._

"_I'm so sorry, Elena." he murmured as she held onto him tightly and sobbed._

"_I forgive you." she whimpered._

_He withdrew and looked into her eyes._

"_You don't belong here, you have to wake up." He said._

"_Cas, I don't want to leave." Elena argued._

"_Wake up, sleeping beauty." _

_She stared at him strangely._

"_Come on." his voice was almost girly. "Wake up princess."_

* * *

"Wake up for fuck's sake!"

Elena's eyes flew open and she inhaled sharply as she sat up. Suddenly her movements became a scramble to pull the sheet up as she realized that she was naked and lying on a cold metal table.

"Well hello."

Her head whipped around and she gaped at the person standing in front of her as her head swam.

"What the hell?" Elena said, her eyes wide.

"You're in a morgue. You were dead, neck snapped. Luckily whatever tried to kill you severely underestimated your stubborn little angel body." The demon said, smirking at her.

"What are you doing here?" Elena demanded, looking the female up and down as she tried to figure it out.

"Clarence recruited me. I guess he liked me." Meg said proudly with a smirk.

Elena was even more surprised by this.

"Cas? Why?" she asked, her voice quieter now.

"To help you. And… to give you the information you seek or whatever bullshit he told me." Meg said, rolling her eyes.

"What does that even mean?" Elena said, furrowing her brow at the demon.

"You're looking into Azazel and his involvement with your family. I worked with Azazel for hundreds of years. Sensing a connection here?"

Elena scrambled off the table with surprise.

"You can tell me about his deal with my family?" she asked, her eyes wider and hopeful.

"Ugh don't look at me like I'm your hero. I'm doing the recently deceased yet sexy as hell angel a favor. The last thing he ever asked me to do. But we're going to Italy, just a warning." Meg said, throwing clothing at her.

"Italy?" Elena asked with confusion as she caught them, holding the sheet up to keep her body covered. "Why Italy?"

"Because of this." Meg answered, holding up the familiar key that Cas gave her.

"Where did you get that?" Elena demanded as she yanked her clothing on.

"From Mr. Singer's house before those parasites burned it down. I knew something like that would happen so I saved it. Also this."

Meg handed her the red dragon pendant.

"You'll need it."

Elena stared down at it with wonder before looking back up at Meg.

"Where do we start?" she asked.

"With a bar. I'm in desperate need for a drink." The demon said before walking out with Elena following her closely.

* * *

**Author's Note: Review please!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own TVD or Supernatural**

**I am so sorry it took so long for me to update. I literally have spent this entire time debating on how to write this chapter. I was originally going to write it switching between the brothers pov and Elena's pov but it just got messy and I hated it. So this chapter is going to have almost no Elena in it. I'm sorry for that but it's how it has to go. The next chapter will show her side of these three weeks as if she's telling Dean what happened.**

* * *

Dean winced as his eyes opened and he saw bright lights above him.

"Hold him down." A distant voice said.

He glanced down to see a doctor and several nurses bustling around him. He was in a hospital. Suddenly all of his memories returned and his eyes widened as he panicked.

"Hey." He protested as they seized him.

The doctor ignored him, looking at the nurses.

"Three, two, one, set!" he yelled.

Suddenly all of Dean's pain returned as they set his shinbone back into place. He shouted at the ceiling as his body thrashed out with pain.

"Nurse!" the doctor yelled before turning to him. "Just relax."

"Where am I?" Dean demanded, trying to ignore him.

"You're at the hospital." He said, nodding at a nurse as she ran in.

"Which one?" he questioned.

"Sioux Falls General." The doctor said as the nurse gave Dean a shot.

He glared at her for a moment.

"Where's my brother? And my Elena? We got to go."

"Your brother bashed his head quite seriously. He's gone up for an MRI." The doctor said, obviously avoiding the question about Elena.

"Okay. I got to go." Dean said, intent on finding Sam and Elena.

"You're not going anywhere on this leg, buddy. Relax." The doctor said, pushing him back down.

Dean wanted to struggle more but he suddenly found himself blacking out.

* * *

Dean awoke for the second time, his body aching but light somehow. He suddenly sat up and looked around, realizing where he was.

"Oh, no, no, no."

He tried to move but found himself restrained by a needle in his arm. He yanked it out and slid to the edge of the bed to climb out. That was when he fell out of the bed onto his ass in a bundle of blankets and limbs. The door opened at that moment and he looked up with shock to see Bobby walk in.

"You okay?" the older hunter asked.

"Bobby, you're alive." Dean breathed, marveling up at him.

"Course I am. Why are you on the floor?" Bobby asked, squatting next to him.

"They gave me morphine. A lot." Dean mumbled, feeling the effects of the drug on his body.

Bobby helped him up to sit on the bed.

"Hey, look, a monster broke my leg." He muttered, glaring at the heavy cast. "Oh. Wait..."

Dean grabbed Bobby's arm with panic.

"The house. We thought you were dead."

"Well, I ain't. Not yet. But we got to run. This place ain't safe. Where's Sam?" Bobby demanded.

"Uh... head scan, I think. Where's Elena?" Dean demanded, remembering seeing her lifeless body.

"I heard that she was in the morgue but when I got there the body was missing with this."

There was a note in his hand from Elena saying that she made it out.

"She'll meet up with us." Bobby said, handing him a stack of clothing. "Meet me at the ambulance dock, stat. I'll find Sam."

"Wait, where? Bobby, I'm a gimp." Dean said, gesturing to his leg.

Bobby responded by handing him a set of crutches. The older hunter paused before turning away.

"Hey." Dean looked up at him with a slightly dazed look.

Bobby patted Dean's cheek several times affectionately, smiling before he exited the room.

* * *

**THREE WEEKS LATER**

Sam was reading at the table of the old diner as Dean sat on the couch watching a telenovela. The door opened and Bobby rushed in.

"Dude..." Dean looked up at him. "Ricardo."

"What happened?" Bobby demanded, rushing to see the screen.

"Suicidio." Dean answered.

Bobby sighed heavily as Sam raised his eyebrow at both of them.

"Adiós, ese." The older hunter said.

Dean shook his head, looking very moved by the Spanish soap opera.

"Well, this ought to cheer you up." Bobby tossed Dean the keys.

"My baby! Now I just got to get this stupid thing off, find my girlfriend, and I can drive again." Dean claimed.

"Elena will be back. She keeps saying she will." Bobby assured him.

"We don't even know where she is, Bobby." Dean sighed. "All we're getting is emails. You know how she kept in contact with Jeremy and the rest of the Mystic Falls people before she disappeared off their radar. Email." Dean said.

"She ain't gonna disappear to nowhere." Bobby said, rolling his eyes.

"So how is it out there?" Sam asked, referring to the fact that they hadn't been out of the cabin in weeks.

"Weird with a side order of bloody. Talked to a few hunters. They're running into the same kind of thing that set up shop at that hospital." Bobby answered as he opened a beer for himself.

"Yeah, and don't forget tried to kill us at your place." Dean nodded.

"Well, consensus is they're, um, they're like shapeshifters only a lot more into eating folk. And nothing can kill 'em." Bobby sighed.

"Good times. Anything else?" Dean questioned.

"Yep. They bleed black goo."

"Like that stuff that came out of Cas… those things from Purgatory. Uh... Leviathan." Sam acknowledged.

"Yep." Bobby nodded.

"What about those chompers that you and the sheriff saw at the hospital? They still making spleenburgers?" Dean wondered.

"Yeah, made some calls. That doctor never showed back up to work. Ditto a nurse and some administrator." Bobby said.

Both Dean and Bobby noticed that Sam's eyes glazed over and he stared off into space.

"So they could be at any hospital in America." Dean said, ignoring it for a moment.

"Yeah." Bobby nodded.

Dean turned to his brother.

"What do you think, Sammy? Sammy? Sam!"

There was no reply as Sam still stared off.

"Hey, ground control! Sam!"

Sam jerked out of it as his left hand with the healed wound twitching.

"Yeah. What? I'm… I'm right here." He stammered, looking up at them with wide eyes.

"You okay?" Dean asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine." He nodded, obviously lying.

A long and awkward pause filled the room.

"Good. Every last bit of info I ever had burned down, so..." Bobby said, breaking the silence.

"What about this place? Rufus leave anything? Did you check the basement?" Dean asked.

"C-rations and dust. I don't think he'd been here in years. So, I got to go round up my old library." Bobby said, standing up.

I thought you said most of those books were one-of-a-kind." Sam said, confused.

"Yeah. That's why I stashed copies all over the place." Bobby said, smirking.

"Okay, good. Um... hey, uh, two-legs. We're fresh out of grub. Want to make a run?" Dean asked Sam.

"Sure. Yeah." Sam nodded.

Dean tossed him the keys to the Impala.

"Be careful with her, would you? And, uh, Sam?"

"Yeah?" Sam glanced back as he walked to the door.

"Pie." Dean nodded.

"Obviously." He sighed before leaving.

Dean looked at Bobby once he was gone.

"So?" he said.

"So what?" Bobby replied.

"Before you bail again… Girl, Interrupted over there. Any thoughts?" Dean wondered.

"Looks to me like he's doing better." Bobby acknowledged.

"Better? What do you mean, better? You just saw him!" Dean snapped, gesturing wildly.

"Saw him check out once. That's progress." he shrugged.

"You're kidding!" Dean scoffed.

"Look, seems to me that Sam's head ain't no different than your leg. People heal on a curve."

"Not diff– Bobby, I get this thing off in five days, I'm golden. Sam's not a curve. He's a frickin' time bomb." Dean said desperately.

"It ain't like he's keeping secrets. What you see is what you get. What's so nuts about calling an upswing?" Bobby questioned.

"Because that's not how it works, Bobby, ever! All right? Especially not with Sam. The other shoe is gonna drop. It's just a matter of when. It would really help if Elena were here to help us out but she's God knows where doing God knows what!" Dean growled out, turning away from Bobby.

"You know she took Cas's… death… hard. She just needed a break and you know it. She'll be back soon. But until she is how about we worry about today's problems? And today, we need intel. I'm going. You sit there and stew. I'll check in."

Dean glowered at the wall.

"Look... you sitting here wringing your hands ain't gonna do nothing. Maybe he'll surprise you. Maybe they both will."

* * *

Sam walked up to the counter of the store holding a basket of groceries for him and Dean, fishing in his pocket for his wallet.

"Hey." He greeted the clerk.

"Hey." The man replied with a nod.

Sam glanced around as he rang him up and noticed something on the newspaper.

**ICE PICK KILLER STRIKES AGAIN**

"Paper, too?" the clerk questioned as he stared at it with shock.

His voice snapped him out of it and he nodded.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, please. Here."

He handed the clerk a credit card with a fake name and the man swiped it through the payment machine.

* * *

"Yes, sir. Do you see any other strange charges on your statement? The May 27th charge to Mistress Magda, perhaps? Oh. Sorry for asking."

The man sitting in the cubicle narrowed his eyes when he saw a notification flash up on his computer showing that a credit card had been used with a name he tagged.

"We're gonna have to call you back."

He said before hanging up the headseat and pulling out a cellphone.

"Yes?" A voice said on the other end.

"Yes, sir, Edgar. The Winchesters have triggered one of my search programs." The man said.

"Great." Edgar said, sounding pleased.

"A shop in Montana, about a day and a half, maybe two days from here."

"So?" Edgar said.

"So?" the man repeated questioningly.

"So, why are you still talking to me?" Edgar demanded before hanging up the phone.

Sam set the shopping back in front of Dean on the coffee table once he walked back into the cabin.

"Ah, thank you." Dean sighed, turning off the television before reaching for it.

"Yep." Sam nodded, distracted as he turned on his laptop. "Where's Bobby? He take off?"

"Yeah." Dean looked over at him, hesitated before speaking again. "Hey, Sam, how you doing?"

Sam glanced up at him before shrugging with an innocent look.

"Fine." He answered.

"I mean, you still, you know..." Dean gestured to his head.

"Yeah, no, I… I know what you mean. Yeah, I'm… I'm still seeing crap that's not real. But, yeah, I'm fine. I mean, I can tell the difference." Sam said.

"Think it's getting better?" Dean asked, knowing the answer already.

"Honestly? Uh... I don't know. I just know I'm managing it, so... so don't worry. How are you? With Elena. I know it's not easy…"

"No it's not." Dean sighed, rummaging through the bag. "But it'll all be all ri… where's the pie?"

He looked up at Sam as he pulled out the plastic box with cake sitting in it.

"I got cake. It's close enough, right?" Sam shrugged.

Dean let out a slight whimper and gave his younger brother a betrayed look.

* * *

Sam sat at the table reading the newspaper he bought with scrutiny, sighing as his mind was pulled into the past.

_He sat on a bench talking on the cheap phone, swinging his long-for-his age legs back and forth as his floppy hair blew in the slightly breeze._

_Yeah, so, from what I can tell, it's something called a Kitsune." Sam paused, waiting on his brother to answer._

"_Not much. They... look human... till they sprout out claws and stab you behind your ear to get to your brain."_

"_How do you kill 'em?" Dean asked, after relaying the information to their father._

"_I don't – I don't know yet."_

"_Sammy, we gotta kill this thing before it kills more people!"_

"_Yes, Dean, I realize killing 'em's important. Maybe if Uncle Bobby sent a book in English." _

"_You have to try harder, Sam. Go read some more. Figure this out."_

"_I am!" Sam said defensively, hating when Dean spoke to him like their father._

"_Do I need to give the phone to Dad? Maybe he can point you in the right…"_

"_No, no, don't… don't put him on the phone." Sam pleaded but it was too late._

"_Sam." the gruff voice of his father came over the phone. _

"_Hi, Dad." He said solemnly, feeling a sting of betrayal from Dean._

"_You go read up on this, son. You need to figure out more about this thing and you need to do it quick."_

"_Yes, sir." Sam sighed._

"_People are suffering and dying, Sam."_

"_I realize people are dying." He said sullenly._

"_I expect better of you. You get this research done, you hear me?" John questioned. _

"_Yeah, I'm on my way to the library right now." Sam said, his voice miserable just before he hung up the phone._

Sam got up once his memory ended, gathering his things and scrawling out a quick note before snagging the keys to the Impala and leaving.

* * *

"_You didn't really think I would leave you right?" Elena stroked his hair as she spoke._

"_I don't even know where the hell you are." Dean replied, holding onto her tightly._

_They were lying in the bed at Bobby's house, so Dean already knew it was a dream. Bobby's house was destroyed._

"_I'll be back soon, I promise. I just have some things to take care of." She assured him, her finger feather light as they stroked his hair._

"_Come back now." He grumbled._

_Her pealing laugh was light and flowed through the air._

"_I love you." she said, leaning down to kiss his head._

"_I love you too." He sighed._

* * *

Dean jerked awake as he pulled himself out of his dream. He glanced around the room as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. Sam was nowhere to be seen. That's when he noticed the note sitting on top of the uneaten cake.

**Back in a few days. I'm fine. **

**Sam**

"Other shoe!" He growled into the phone as he stood, balancing on a crutch.

"Other who?" Bobby's voice crackled over the receiver.

"Sam. He took off." Dean sighed.

He hobbled towards his clothes to throw a pair on.

"Where?" the older hunter questiond.

"I don't know. Nowhere good." He answered.

"Well, maybe he needed a little me-time." Bobby suggested, sounding nonplussed.

"Yeah, but his me-time ain't just him. I mean, for all we know he's road trippin' with Lucifer somewhere. Left me here like Jimmy friggin' Stewart." Dean snapped.

"I assume you called." He sighed.

"Straight to voicemail." Dean answered. He turned his GPS off, too. And he took my car!" he yelled the last sentence.

"Don't panic." Bobby said calmly.

"Too late!" Dean shot back.

"Look, he says he's okay, so give it a couple of days. Just till you get the cast off, then hunt him down. Till then, we'll both just keep calling." Bobby told him.

"All right." Dean agreed after a moment before hanging up.

He hesitated for a moment before dialing his phone again.

"This is Elena! I can't come to the… Dean stop!" her laugh echoed over the phone.

"She can't come to the phone because she's with me! In bed!" his own voice claimed in the background.

"Dean my brother might hear this! None of our friends will ever let me live this down!" Elena whined.

There was a scrabbling and Dean closed his eyes, his mind going back to the memory of when they created this voicemail greeting.

"_Dean give me back the phone! There's only a few seconds left!" Elena exclaimed, struggling with him to get it back as she tried to keep the sheet wrapped around her naked torso as well._

"_This is Elena's phone. She can't come right now because she is hanging out with someone way more awesome than you. She might call you later, she might not. Leaving a message probably won't influence her decision because she never checks her voicemail but you can certainly try."_

"_Dean you're such an assho…"_

_She was cut off both by the end of the recording and his lips on hers as he dropped the phone and leaned in, capturing her lips in his._

"_You love me." Dean claimed once he pulled away._

"_I do, for some reason." _

"_Press pound to confirm this as your voicemail greeting." The automated voice on the phone said._

"_Dean no!" Elena cried as he reached for it and held it out of her grip, pressing the button._

"_It's already done!" he said triumphantly._

"_You brat!" Elena huffed, ripping her phone out of his grip and throwing it onto the bedside table. "You get to make that up to me now." _

"_What do I have to do?" Dean asked, his hands slipping underneath the sheets and roaming over her torso down to her hips._

_"I'm sure I can think of a few things." Elena said with a coy grin before leaning in to kiss him once more._

Dean shook himself out of the memory as the beep sounding on the phone.

"Hey, we're kinda… we're kinda having some trouble here. Sam's run off and I think he's getting worse. I have no idea what to do… I need your help. So can you just… can you come back? I'm really worried and I think it's about time I got an explanation for your disappearing act and your refusal to talk about it. So… call me back." he sighed before hanging up.

He glanced around the room before hobbling over to the stairs to find a circular saw in the basement. When he found it, he plugged it up and glared down at his cast.

"You're goin' down."

* * *

"You guys thinking this is another one… so-called ice pick killer?" Sam asked the police officer as they walked down the hallway.

"Same M.O. Can't say I'm too broken up about this one." The man answered as they entered his office.

"Oh, you knew him?" Sam questioned.

"Busted him half a dozen times. Real mensch."

"So, what's the deal? Um, killer comes to town, ganks a lowlife, moves along?" he asked, sitting in a chair as the officer sat behind his desk.

"Looks like." the policeman answered.

"Stabs 'em all exactly the same, right? Behind the ear?" Sam wondered.

"Yeah. No explaining a psycho." The man looked at him suspiciously. "We left that detail out of the paper, though. How'd you know?"

"I worked a case like this a few years back." he said assuringly.

"Think it's related?" the other man questioned.

"You find anything weird about the brains?" Sam asked in return.

"Like what?" the officer said.

"Like... missing." He said hesitantly.

"Huh." The officer didn't seemed bothered by the question. "Good question for the coroner."

"Right." Sam sighed. "Thanks."

His phone beeped as he turned to walk out of the office and he looked at it to see that he had three missed calls from Dean and two from Bobby. Sam sighed and shoved it back into his pocket, ignoring them as he moved on.

* * *

Dean winced as his leg ached but otherwise he was happy that he was able to balance on it perfectly as he walked up to the counter.

"How you doing?" he nodded at the clerk. "Uh, was there a, uh, big guy in here yesterday?"

"That's specific." The clerk said in a bored tone.

Dean sighed, nodding.

"Uh, I mean big. Like about yea high?" he gestured up with his hand.

"Yeah, maybe. Uh, brown hair?" the man questioned.

"Yes! Yes. That's him. Do you, uh… you remember what he bought?

The man looked at him with confusion.

"Snacks, maybe?" he shrugged.

Dean glanced around before spotting the pile of newspapers.

"How about a paper? Do you have yesterday's paper?" he asked.

"Yeah, right there." the clerk nodded to the bottom newspaper shelf.

"Oh." Dean picked up the newspaper and read the headline with wide eyes.

He glanced up at the clerk.

"Do you mind?"

The man shook his head and he turned, walking out with the newspaper in hand.

* * *

"We don't get too many murders out this way... much less a serial." The coroner said as he pulled out the drawer that held the most recent dead body.

"So what'd you find?" Sam asked, snapping on gloves.

"It's what we didn't find. Let me show you." he pulled back the sheet and gestured to the right side of the head. "Big chunk of mid-brain went missing."

"Mid-brain, like pituitary gland?" Sam questioned warily.

"Actually, their pituitaries were clear gone. How'd you know that?" the man asked, glancing up at Sam with surprise.

_He was sitting at a table in the library talking to Dean on the phone._

"_Yeah, so, they need a steady diet of human pituitary glands to survive."_

"Educated guess." Sam answered, sighing.

Later on, he was in a motel room hanging up newspaper clippings, photos, and papers with written reports on them.

"_Hang on. Slow down."_

_He sat at the table in the library marking locations on a twenty-five cent map as Dean spoke quickly in his ear._

"_Right. So, the victims are located in parks just off the highway. Just one per town. That's something."_

"_Something wrong, Sammy?" Dean interrupted him._

"_What?" He answered._

"_You sound a little off."_

"_I… I'm just tired. I've been looking at this for like eight years." He sat up a little straighter, noticing something. "Wait. Hang on. I'll call you right back."_

_He hung up and drew a line on the map between the Xs, nodding as he did so._

Sam watched as he drew small red Xs on the map and connected them before circling one big location, certain that it was where the monster would be next.

* * *

He sighed as he sat back in the Impala, bored of waiting but knowing that it was necessary. Another memory surfaced in his mind.

"_Triple red eye, please." He said to the coffee vendor outside of the library._

_The man eyed him for a moment._

"_Okay." He said skeptically._

_Sam glanced around and saw a young blonde girl around his age walking into the library._

"_Triple red eye."_

_The vender set it on the cart for Sam and he slapped a few dollar bills down._

"_Thanks." He answered before walking back into the building._

_Several minutes later, he was seated at his table but he wasn't paying attention to his research. Instead he was watching the pretty blonde browse the magazines._

Sam was pulled out of his memory as he saw a vehicle pull up nearby and a figure shrouded in darkness climbed out, hurrying away. Sam climbed out as well as he continued on his walk down memory lane.

"_You stab it in the heart." Sam murmured, walking through the aisles as he kept an eye on the girl he spotted._

"_What?" Dean said, straining to hear his soft voice._

"_Stab it. The heart." Sam sighed, repeating it._

"_What?" Dean questioned louder._

"_I said, you stab it in the heart!" he hissed loudly._

"_Shh!" the librarian admonished him as she passed._

_Sam sighed and leaned against a shelf._

"_Okay. Are you guys cool? Can I have a normal life for five minutes now?" he demanded, snapping._

"_Oh someone is a little crabby. Go get some sleep, Sammy. Work on that attitude before Dad hears it. Gotta go little brother."_

"_Oh, Dean." He stopped his older brother from answering the phone. "Quick question. How do you talk to girls?"_

"_Oh is my little Sammy growing up and finding himself a real girl? I'm so proud. This is a day that is going to go down in my diary. Dear Diary, Sammy finally grew some and noticed that girls don't have cooties anymore."_

"_Shut up!" Sam snapped before hanging up the phone._

_He slid it into his pocket, watching as the blonde sat down and began flipping through a magazine. Sam straightened his jacket before wandering up to her warily._

"_Um... I just wanted to, you know, say hi and…"_

"_No. Go away." She said, barely glancing up at him._

_Sam stood there for a moment, taken aback. She looked up and regret flickered over her face._

"_It's just, I'm not supposed to talk to boys."_

_Sam nodded once before fleeing the scene, his face burning with embarrassment._

* * *

_He was exiting the library when he glanced to his left, watching the girl walk off with boys following her as they shoved each other and guffawed. Sam hesitated a moment before following them._

_When he found them, they had her backed up against a tree._

"_Leave me alone." She said, glaring at them._

"_Come on. We just want to talk." One of the boys said._

"_I have to go." she moved forward to walk past them but the other boy pushed her shoulder, shoving her back against the tree._

"_Uh-uh-uh. Why so rude?" the first boy taunted._

"_Don't touch me!" she snapped, shoving his hand off._

"_Hey. I said be nice." He growled._

"_Why don't you?" Sam said, stalking forward as he dropped his bag._

_They both turned to him with matching glares._

"_Butt out. Can you believe this guy?" the first boy scoffed to his friend._

_He put a hand out to shove SAm but he blocked it and punched him, knocking him to the ground. This turned into an all out scuffle in which Sam gained the upper hand quickly. Pretty soon, the boys were running away as Sam turned to the girl._

"_Hi. I'm Sam." he sighed, holding his hand out to her._

_She grinned at him._

"_I'm Amy." She answered, shaking his hand._

Sam followed behind the figure slowly, making sure he made no noise because he knew that the being would be able to hear him. The other person was watching a man who was standing next to his own car fumbling with the keys.

"Oh, damn it." the man muttered when he dropped his keys.

Sam hurried up behind her and she turned just as he held a knife to her chest.

"Hi, Amy." He said as she stared at him with surprise.

"Sam." the woman said, .

"Yeah." He nodded.

She didn't seem bothered by the knife he was holding.

"I just... never thought I'd see you again. What are you doing here?" Amy asked, peering at him through the dark curiously.

"I think you know." He said, keeping his face in a cool mask.

"You got tall, huh?" she said, ignoring his cool exterior.

"Small talk? Really?"

Amy shrugged, smiling slightly.

"Let's take a walk." Sam said.

"Sam…" she sighed, her shoulders slumping.

"Walk." He snapped again.

She began to walk as he held the knife up ready to defend himself if she attacked him.

"So, same pattern, same victim pool… just like when we were kids." He said.

"No, I… it's not what… look, I'm not… I've had the same job for the last six years. I… I have a house, two cats, a mortgage. I have a normal life." Amy stammered, trying to convince him.

"You call this normal?" Sam scoffed.

"_Ready to play doctor?" Amy asked as they sat on the couch. _

_She reached out tentatively and dabbed at his bleeding face with a cotton ball dipped in rubbing alcohol. Sam winced once but remained still otherwise._

"_So, you gonna tell me?" _

"_What?" Sam questioned._

"_How you kicked the crap out of those guys. I mean... no offense, but you're kind of..." she trailed off._

"_Wiry?" he supplied for her and she smiled slightly._

"_Exactly. So...?" she pushed him._

"_Just watch a lot of Bruce Lee movies." Sam shrugged._

_Amy seemed to believe him as she stood._

"_You thirsty?" she asked._

"_Sure." He nodded, glancing around as she walked to the fridge._

"_So, you live around here?" she asked as she turned back to the couch with a can of soda._

"_No, not really." Sam sighed, looking at the radio as he listened to the song playing from it. "It's a cool song. My dad doesn't listen to anything recorded after 1979, so..."_

_He held the can to his throbbing cheek once she handed it to him._

"_Does that mean you can't?" Amy questioned, sitting next to him once again._

"_I'm kind of stuck in the car a lot. My dad has to travel. For work." Sam explained._

"_Yeah, me and my mom bounce around a lot, too. She's all about, like, letting the wind be our guide." Amy said miserably._

"_Like a hippie?" Sam asked, smirking slightly._

"_Minus the peace and love." she said, taking the can from him and opening it, taking a drink before handing it back to him._

"_We're always on the road. I mean, I've seen the world's biggest ball of twine twice." Sam said._

"_Three times. Not that big." Amy said, not sounding impressed._

"_Right?" Sam agreed, laughing along with her._

_When their giggles died down, Sam looked down at his hands._

"_Okay, but be honest… I mean, moving all the time sucks. You're always the new kid, and everyone always thinks you're a freak." He said regretfully._

"_Sam, you are a freak." He looked up at her with surprise. "But so was, I don't know, Jimi Hendrix and... Picasso. So am I. All the coolest people are freaks."_

_Sam stared at her for a moment before leaning in and kissing her softly.I_

"Sam. What I am, I'm managing it." Amy said as they tromped through the woods, bringing Sam out of his memory.

"You spiked three guys this week." He scoffed.

"No, you don't understand. It's not like that. I'm… I'm not just some murderer. I had to." Amy said desperately.

"Why?" Sam asked as they stopped walking.

"I can't… I just had to. Please believe me, Sam." Amy pleaded with him as she faced him.

"I can't. I'm sorry." He sighed, reaching forward into her pocket with his left hand.

"So am I." Amy said regretfully before knocking the knife out of his hand and shoving him against the tree.

He fell to the ground as she ran off. In his left hand were several items from her pocket.

* * *

"This is the one he asked to see." The coroner said as he rolled out the body.

Dean inspected it closely.

"Great, great. Uh, let me ask you, did he do anything to it?" he asked.

"No. He just asked a few questions about the other vics… missing pituitary glands and so forth."

Dean's eyes snapped up.

"Son of a bitch." He muttered.

"Sam's chasin' a what?" Bobby asked as Dean walked out of the hospital to his borrowed car.

"A Kitsune. It's pretty rare. Dad and I hunted one back in '98." He explained as he climbed into the car.

"Vaguely rings a bell." Bobby said, thinking about the name of the monster.

"Yeah, didn't make our highlight reel." Dean said, turning the car on and pulling out of the parking lot.

"Well, least now we know he's working a job." Bobby reminded him.

"Yeah, but why pull the Houdini act?" he questioned.

"Not a clue." The older hunter sighed. "What are you gonna do when you catch up?"

"I got a few ideas." Dean muttered before hanging up the phone.

* * *

Amy was packing quickly when she heard a creak behind her. She whirled around to see Sam looming over her.

"How did you find me?" she gasped.

Sam held up a receipt with her name on it.

"You dropped this. Amy Pond, huh? Cute name."

Sam glanced around.

"You weren't kidding about the mortgage."

"Sam..." she began.

He glanced down and saw blood on her hand, his eyes widening.

"Wait, that's fresh. That's not mine. So, you killed again!" he accused her.

"You think I wanted to?" she demanded.

"I think you better tell me exactly what you're doing, or I have to kill you whether I want to or not!"

"I can't. Sam, you know me." Amy said pleadingly.

"No, I knew you. But that was a long time ago." Sam refused.

"No, you know me. You know the kind of person I am."

_As they broke apart from kissing, Sam reached out to try to place the can of soda on the coffee table. Instead it fell and spilled over onto the rug._

"_Oh! Crap."_

_Amy jumped off the couch and grabbed a rag, trying to soak up the liquid._

"_Sorry. I didn't mean to." Sam said guiltily as he watched helplessly._

"_It's just, if she sees it, you know, my mom will be so pissed." Amy muttered, scrubbing at it._

"_Yeah. It was just an accident." Sam reminded her._

"_Yeah, well, she has a temper. Sometimes. It's..." Amy cut off, shaking her head. "… no big deal._

"_My dad does, too. You don't want to see him when he's drinking." Sam said softly._

_Amy glanced up at him._

"_My mom... I don't think she's a good person." She admitted. "Sometimes I don't think I'm a good person, either."_

"_You are." Sam assured her quickly._

"_Don't be so sure." Amy sighed._

_He put his hand over hers as she braced it on his knee._

"_I've been around enough bad to know good when I see it." he said._

"_It's just she has this... whole plan for me, but... I don't want to be like her, you know?" Amy said, looking sad._

"_I don't want to be like my dad, either." Sam informed her._

"All right. So then tell me what's going on." Sam said, holding his knife out.

"Drop the knife and I'll show you." Amy said, her eyes flicking to it and back.

"Show me and I'll drop the knife." Sam shot back.

Amy sighed and moved towards a closed door.

"Don't move." She warned him before opening the door.

Sam peeked in to see a child sleeping in a bed.

"This is Jacob... my son. I've built a life here, Sam. I'm... in the PTA. I'm boring." Amy tried to convince him.

"But you're still feeding." He argued, already feeling his mind changing.

"On the dead. I'm a mortician. I know. Not sexy, but, you know, health benefits. I quietly take what Jacob and I need. No one gets hurt. But it can be risky, feeding like that, especially for a kid. Jacob got sick. He was dying, and the only way to fight it off was…"

"He needed fresh meat." Sam realized.

"It worked. After the last one, his fever broke." Amy said, sounding relieved.

"Amy…" he began as she shut the door.

"It's over." She assured him.

"You can't guarantee that." he sighed.

"I give you my word. So, how is spilling more blood gonna help anyone? You could still walk away from this. We both can. Sam... after what I did for you.

"_Amy, I…"_

_Suddenly the young woman was shoving him towards the closet._

"_Hide!" she cried._

"_What?" he said, confused._

"_Quick!"_

_She shut the door behind him just before her mother entered the house._

"_Hey." She said, watching as the older woman began scrambling around._

"_They caught up." Her mother said quickly._

"_Who caught up?" Amy asked._

"_Couple of pros in a piece-of-crap Impala. We're leaving." She said, throwing things in a bag._

"_But, Mom…" Amy began to complain._

"_I'm only gonna say this once… I put the food on this table, so you will do as you are told or I will let you starve." Her mother threatened with a finger in her face._

_She moved away towards the closet._

"_Okay." Amy said quickly and her mother turned. "Gas up the van. I'll pack."_

_Sam drew his knife up to his chest just in case. Amy's mother smiled._

"_Good girl." she breathed before turning to leave._

_Once she was gone, Amy rushed to the closet and opened the doors, pulling him out._

"_Awesome first date, huh? Look, I'm sorry you got to go like this, but..." she noticed Sam's wary face. "What's wrong? Look, I know my mom's…"_

"_No, I just have to go. I'm sorry." He said, moving to walk past her._

_That was when he saw the brain in the jar on the table that her mother pulled out._

"_Oh, that… that's nothing! That's just..." Amy moved around to block his vision of the jar._

_Sam lifted his knife defensively.._

"_Sam?" Amy questioned, sounding hurt._

"_It's my dad and brother in the Impala. You're a monster." He accused her._

"_You're a hunter. So... you're supposed to kill me? And I'm supposed to kill you?" Amy questioned quietly._

"_I guess." Sam nodded._

"_Sam, I've never killed anyone. And I don't want to hurt you. Do you want to hurt me?" she asked, peering into his eyes pleadingly._

_He hesitated for a moment before shaking his head._

"_No." Sam admitted._

"_Then run. If my mom finds you, she'll kill you. Just run. Please, Sam." _

_Amy shoved him towards the door._

* * *

Sam fumbled with his room key as the walked towards the motel room. As soon as he unlocked the door and pushed it open, a fist flew out and connected with his face, knocking him onto his back.

"Howdy, Sam." Dean said from the doorway.

He helped Sam up with a hand as his younger brother glared at him.

"New rule. You steal my baby, you get punched." Dean informed him as they walked inside.

"The hell were you thinking, Sam, running off like that? I mean, for all I know, Satan could have been callin' your plays." He growled, turning around as Sam pulled a can of soda from the fridge and held it to his head.

"Dean, look, how many times do I have to tell you? I'm fine." Sam sighed.

"Oh, yeah, no, you're a poster boy for mental health. You have any idea the kind of horror shows I had going on in my head?" Dean snapped.

"Dean, I left you a note. There was a job in town." Sam said, gesturing around.

"A Kitsune. Yeah. Yeah. No, I know. And you ignore Bobby and I's phone calls why, exactly?" Dean demanded, sitting on the bed.

"Because I wanted to take care of it. And I did. I took care of it." Sam said.

"Really?" he said doubtfully.

"Yes." Sam nodded.

"Where's the body?" Dean asked.

Sam hesitated before answering.

"There is no body."

The older Winchester stared at the younger for a moment.

"Why not?" he questioned.

"Because I let her go. She's gone." Sam informed him.

"You what?" Dean demanded. "Why?"

_Sam opened the front door to leave but was stopped by her mother who shoved him back inside._

"_Sam!" Amy cried._

"_I knew you were hiding something. See, we can never blow town without Amy throwing a bitch-fit. So agreeing to go peacefully… well. Who is this?" she demanded, fisting her hand in his shirt._

"_He's my friend." Amy said._

_Her mother turned to glare at her._

"_No, he's not." She growled, fury flashing in her eyes._

"_Sam!" She stared forward but her mother shoved her backwards._

"_Shut up! What is wrong with you, huh? You that stupid? Really? I already told you, you cannot have friends. This kid is food!" Amy's mother said, shaking Sam._

"_No!" she wailed._

_The older woman let go of Sam to backhand Amy. She turned back to him as her daughter fell to the floor and raised her fist._

"_This'll teach you." she hissed._

_Long, pointed claws began growing out of her fingers as Sam watched in horror. Suddenly the woman gasped and her hands returned to normal. Sam glanced down to see a bloodstain spreading on her shirt. He looked past her to see that Amy stabbed her. He watched in shock as her body fell._

"You never told me that." Dean said.

"I never told anyone. I mean, can you imagine what Dad would have done?" Sam said as they sat on either side of the table.

"So you saw the article in the newspaper, and you just bolted." Dean said.

"It was my mess." Sam sighed, rubbing his head.

"And you call letting her go cleaning it up?" Dean questioned, raising his eyebrows.

"She killed her own mom, Dean, to save me." Sam reminded him.

"I hear you, Sam. I do. But look at her now. She's dropping bodies, man... Which means we got to drop her, no matter how many merit badges she racked up when she was a kid. I'm sorry, but it's that simple."

"Nothing in our lives is simple." Sam said.

"_You have to run. Amy! Do you have cash?" he demanded._

_She nodded, looking back and forth between him and her dead mother._

"_I… I want you on the first bus out of town. Tonight." He said._

"_But what about…" Amy's eyes flickered to her mother's form._

"_I'll take care of her. Just go!" Sam exclaimed, shoving her to the door._

_She clenched her hand down on his arm._

"_Come with me. We don't have to be alone. We can be freaks together, Sam." She breathed._

_He stared back at her as she waited for an answer._

"_Sam?" _

"_I can't. I'm sorry." He sighed._

_Amy stared at him before nodding regretfully._

"_So am I." she said honestly._

"Look, man, I get it, okay? You meet a girl, you feel that spark… there's nothing better. But this freak?" Dean questioned.

Sam grabbed his jacket and stood, pulling it on as Dean realized his mistake.

"I didn't mean…" he sighed.

"Yeah, you did. Look, I see the way you look at me, Dean, like I'm a grenade and you're waiting for me to go off." Sam said.

"Sam…"

"I'm not going off. Look, I might be a freak, but that's not the same as dangerous." Sam argued.

"I didn't say…" Dean began.

"It's okay. Say it." Sam interrupted him. "I've spent a lot of my life trying to be normal, but come on. I'm not normal. Look at all the crap I've done, look at me now. I'm a grade-A freak. But I'm managing it. And so is Amy."

"Is she? How?" Dean demanded.

"She works at a damn funeral home so she doesn't have to kill anyone, Dean. She's figured out how to deal." Sam informed him.

"Okay, well, then explain the bodies." Dean challenged him.

"She's done. Her friggin' kid was dying, Dean. Put you or me in her position, we'd probably do the same thing. Look, you don't trust her. Fine. Trust me. Dean, please."

Dean stared at him hesitantly before sighing.

"Okay." He finally said.

"Seriously?" Sam questioned.

"Got to start sometime, right?" Dean shrugged.

* * *

Dean was on the phone as Sam walked to the Impala holding a bag of grocieres.

"Bozeman. Right. Got it. Thanks." He said before hanging up.

Sam looked at him questioningly as he reached Dean.

"That was Bobby. We'll hole up in Spokane tonight. We'll meet him tomorrow. Why don't you drive?" Dean said, tossing him the keys.

Sam caught them easily before giving Dean a wary look.

"You gonna punch me again?"

Dean simply chuckled before climbing in the car.

* * *

Dean glanced over at Sam as they pulled up to the motel.

"Hey, why don't, uh… why don't you check us in? I got to hit the candy store."

He held up his bottle of pills and shook them.

"Doctor's orders."

Sam nodded, climbing out of the car. He walked inside as Dean slid into the driver's seat and drove off with a dark look. As he was driving down the street, he suddenly felt another presence and his eyes flashed over to the other seat. Elena was sitting there suddenly staring out the windshield.

"What the hell?" Dean almost screeched to a stop.

"Hi." She said softly.

She looked no different and talked no different yet there was something. Dean stared at her shocked. Her eyes finally turned on him and he saw that she looked devastated for a moment before she covered it up.

"Where've you been?" he demanded.

"I'll tell you later when it's you and Sam. Where is he? Where are you going?" she asked.

Dean suddenly remembered the matter he had to take care of.

"To handle something that Sam can't." he said simply before launching into the explanation.

When Amy entered her hotel room, they were sitting on the couch next to each other.

"Next time you run, you should change your license plates. Keeping the same tags makes you easy to track." Dean said, holding a knife in his hands.

Elena was staring at the ground, refusing to meet anyone's eyes.

"Who are…" Amy began.

"I'm Sam's brother and this is my girlfriend. And you are Amy Pond, the Bozeman mortician who went missing. There's people looking for you." Dean said, standing up and circling her as Elena remained seated.

"Sam sent you?" she questioned.

"Sam doesn't know I'm here." Dean said.

"But he told you. My son…" she began.

"I know. I know. But people... they are who they are. No matter how hard you try, you are what you are. You will kill again." Dean said.

"I won't. I swear." She pleaded.

"Trust me, I'm an expert. Maybe in a year, maybe ten. But eventually, the other shoe will drop. It always does." Dean said before rearing back to stab her. "I'm sorry."

Suddenly she let out a choking noise her eyes flashed. Dean looked up with shock as the bloody blade dropped from Elena's hand and the body dropped to the floor. Tears were streaming down her face and she was staring off into space as if he wasn't even there. Dean knew that he had to ask her again because of her strange behavior.

"Elena? Where the hell have you been? It's been weeks." he demanded.

"They weren't supposed to die." She said quietly, her even voice in opposition to the wetness of her eyes.

"Who?" Dean asked, confused.

"My parents. Aunt Jenna. Uncle John… they were never supposed to die."

Elena broke down, launching into his arms as she began crying. Dean caught her, unsure of what to do other than comfort her. They turned to see a young boy watching them with horror at the body lying on the ground. Dean instantly knew who this was.

"You got someone you can go to?" he asked.

Jacob nodded, glaring at them. Elena lifted her head to look at him.

"You ever kill anyone?"

He shook his head this time.

"Well, if you do, I'll come back for you." Dean promised.

"The only person I'm gonna kill is you." Jacob threatened and Elena almost shifted in front of Dean protectively.

"Well, look me up in a few years. Assuming I live that long." Dean said simply, pulling Elena towards the door as her body wracked with sobs.

* * *

"Yes, sir. Sam Winchester was definitely here." The possessed man said as he stood behind the counter.

"You can track them?" Edgar asked.

"Yes. Every alias we have for them, and I'll find out where they went from here. I'm only a couple days behind them. Just grabbing a bite first." He assured him, glancing over at the bound and gagged clerk as he hung up. "Do you know what I find? Plain old people taste fine, but everything is better... with cheese."

He lifted a vat of hot cheese and poured it over the man, relishing in his pained screams just before he threw his head back and opened his large mouth to devour the cashier.

* * *

**Review please! I know this chapter is strange and probably a little boring but I'll write the next one as fast as I can.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own TVD or Supernatural**

**Thank you to everyone who is sticking with me! I'll try harder to update more now that I'm back on track. I'm so sorry for the long delay once again. **

**Elena's outfits are on my profile, as always.**

* * *

**THREE WEEKS AGO**

"Meg why are we here?" Elena questioned as they walked through the almost empty restaurant up to the bar.

"Because I need a drink and I know you need a drink. It's not every day you come back from the dead." Meg said, glancing back at her. "Oh wait… I guess it is. How many times have you died now?"

"Enough for a lifetime." Elena sighed.

"Cheers to that. We'll have two top shelf whiskeys." Meg informed the bartender.

"Why did you drag me out of the hospital so fast?" Elena asked as they sat on stools.

"A few of your friends were in there and it was only a matter of time before they figured out you were there. Don't worry, your Winchesters got out all right with Bobby."

"Bobby's alive." Elena sighed with relief.

"Dean has a heck of a broken leg and I'm sure Sam has some sort of brain damage. He was getting a head scan when I showed up at the hospital." Meg said.

"At least they're not dead." Elena said, reaching for the glass of whiskey as soon as the bartender set it down in front of them.

Meg stared at her with surprise.

"You don't want to run to them and make sure your babies are okay?" she asked tauntingly.

"I'll see them soon." Elena said, avoiding the question.

"Wow… a little tension in the family?"

Elena's eyes dropped and she sighed.

"They're not looking at me the same. Not after what happened with Cas." She said.

"What did happen with Clarence?" the demon asked.

"A lot. He siphoned some of his souls from purgatory off into me and they… took over but at the same time they didn't. I was in charge but they just made every part of me so much darker. It was like there was no light… no hope… I was just… emotionless. When they were in me, I didn't care about anything. Not Dean or Sam or Bobby. All I cared about was Cas because he was my… for lack of a better word… creator." Elena explained, unsure of why she was being so honest with the demon when she wouldn't tell Dean about this.

"I understand that." Meg said, waving the bartender down for more drinks.

"You do?" she questioned, frowning over at her.

"Azazel was my creator. He made the deal with me. Took my soul… then Alastair tortured me for hundreds of years down in hell before he gave me the knife. Those two made me what I am now. And I followed them loyally like a lost fucking dog. I did everything Azazel told me. He called me his daughter."

Elena grimaced.

"What did you sell your soul for?" she questioned.

Meg snorted, shaking her head.

"You aren't going to believe me if I tell you."

"Try me." Elena challenged her.

Meg looked over at her.

"Love."

Her eyes widened and she fought back the urge to drop her jaw.

"I know, fucking pathetic right? I mean I was stuck for ten years with a dumb as rocks dick because I saw his pretty face and decided I wanted him to love me." Meg said, shaking her head.

Elena stared at her, considering her next question carefully.

"If you could go back, would you still take the deal?" she asked.

Meg glanced over at her.

"Yep I would have. The only regret I have is that I didn't rip out that asshole's loving heart before I got dragged into hell by the hounds."

Elena grimaced and made a disgusted noise as Meg grinned over at her.

"I used to have more violent tendencies. Of course Azazel encouraged them in me. Ever since he died I haven't really been into mass murder, you know? Maybe a few now and then but…"

"Can you stop now?" Elena snapped, drinking her whiskey and relishing in the slow burn.

Meg let out a laugh.

"Oh don't try to tell me that you're all snowy white inside. You have just as much red on your ledger as I do. Yours is just a different kind of blood." The demon said.

"What do you mean?" Elena demanded, slamming her glass down on the bar and making the bartender jump.

"Do you really think that hunting is anything less than murder? Werewolves, vampires, revenants, shapeshifters, demons… angels. They're all beings who have just as much claim on this world as you do yet you outweigh them with your weapons and your population. And you can wave your self-righteous good girl flag all over the place but I know that it affects you." Meg informed her.

Elena glared over at her but the demon wasn't bothered about it. Meg turned to face her and handed her a second glass of whiskey.

"You tear those things apart and you feel powerful. You know that you have a hold over them and it makes you feel strong. You kill things that should be stronger than you and you feel that black hole deepening inside of you, poisoning your soul. But you don't care. It makes you feel strong. But you don't show it. You outwardly mourn for the job you have to do. You cry and complain over the people we monsters kill but you kill more of us than we ever will of you. You like killing. You like the adrenaline and you find yourself itching to do it."

"That's not true." Elena spat out.

"Isn't it? Then why do you celebrate when a hunt is over? Why do you go out drinking with your Winchesters when you've finally put down the big bad wolf? Why do you fuck around with Dean after you've put down the being who was just doing what it's nature told it to do?" Meg questioned.

Elena felt heat building in her and she wanted to attack the demon more than anything.

"The truth is you're no different from us. Hunters are just monsters who happen to kill other monsters. Hey, I have no problem with it. Go ahead, do what your nature tells you to do. But don't pretend to be better than us when you take just as much thrill in killing as we do."

"Why are you saying this?" she demanded.

Meg sighed and turned back to the bar, facing forward and away from Elena.

"Because what I am about to tell you is probably going to be the worst thing you'll ever hear and the only thing that will save you from collapsing in on yourself and giving up on life is that anger and that bloodlust. The only thing that will keep you from stabbing yourself in the heart is the revenge you're going to want to pursue."

Elena looked over at her with confusion.

"Revenge on who?" she asked.

Meg finished off her whiskey and turned to look at Elena.

"Everyone."

Elena felt her heart pounding and her mind warred with itself over whether or not she really wanted to hear what Meg had to say. Eventually the curious part won out.

"Tell me." she said.

Meg nodded, standing up.

"Let's get out of here. This isn't a conversation for a public location." She said, slapping a few bills on the counter and walking out with Elena following her.

* * *

**ROME, ITALY – THREE WEEKS LATER**

Elena sighed softly as she sipped a coffee. The sun was beating down on her as she sat outside of a café in Rome. Suddenly a shadow fell over her where she was sitting outside of the café and she looked up to see a man standing there.

"Triste bella donna, essere triste non di più! Ecco una rosa per la donna più bella del mondo!" he claimed, holding a red rose out to her.

**(Sad beautiful woman, be sad no more! Here's a rose for the most beautiful woman in the world!)**

"Grazie." Elena said with a smile, taking it from him.

He nodded at her with a grin before turning to walk off.

"Well now that you've had your daily dose of being flirted with, it's time to go." Meg said as she walked up to the table.

"You're in a hurry." Elena snapped, standing up and grabbing her bag, walking off with her.

"Well we're not going to find information on the Leviathan without researching, are we?" Meg replied, walking beside her.

"If you were a little more informed, we wouldn't have to research." Elena shot back.

I told you, Leviathan… way before my time. I never even heard anyone mention them. All I know is they're big, bad, and they're probably going to kill us all." Meg said simply.

"Sounds like a party." Elena sighed as they walked through the gates, nodding at the security officer who recognized them.

"You ever think it's strange that we can just walk through the gates of the Vatican without question?" Meg questioned, glancing back at the officer.

"You're a centuries old demon and you find this strange?"

"You may want to keep that demon/angel talk to a minimum here. You might give the Pope an aneurism." Meg said, smirking.

"You would just love that." Elena replied.

"Yep I would." Meg agreed.

They were interrupted by a man in black robes running up to them.

"Miss Elena. Miss Meg." He said, bowing his head to them.

"Angelo." Elena greeted, smiling at him.

"You wish to be escorted to the vault?" he asked, using English in a very thick Italian accent.

"Yes, please Angelo." She answered.

Elena and Meg followed him to the elevator, watching as he pressed the button for the bottom floor.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again, your Castiel may not have understood a lot of human things, but he sure knows irony, doesn't he?" Meg said.

Elena sighed heavily, turning her face away as she didn't want to talk about the angel.

"Oh I forgot, he's part of the off limits conversation as well as the Winchesters." Meg said, smirking.

"Just shut up, Meg." Elena grumbled as they walked out of the elevator.

Angelo led them to the door and watched as Elena pulled the key out of her bag, sticking it in the door. He typed in a key code and several loud clicks sounded before the door opened. Elena pushed it open and smiled gratefully at Angelo.

"I'll let you know when we are ready to be escorted back up." She said.

"Yes, Miss Elena." he said before turning to walk off.

Meg walked in behind her before Elena shut the door, turning on the light to throw the large room into brightness.

"Keep going." Elena invited Meg as she walked to a shelf and began looking through the different objects.

"Don't you ever want to know what some of these things do? I mean, I'm sure one of these can kill Leviathan." Meg said.

"These weapons are not for me to use nor are they for you. They are weapons of heaven and Castiel transferred them into my possession so that I would keep them safe from anyone who wants to use them." Elena snapped at her.

"I know, I know. I'm just saying… they could be useful." Meg said, glancing around the large room that was full of many weapons and books.

"Not going to happen." Elena said, running her hand over a particularly ornate sword.

"Why don't you transfer them into the care of your archangel?" Meg questioned.

"Because Gabriel isn't answering any of my calls." Elena hissed, glaring over at the demon. "And there is no way in hell I'm giving these weapons over to them and risking Michael getting his hands on them."

"You don't trust the archangel of all archangels? Who can you trust?" the demon wondered, stroking the spine of a book on a table.

"I don't want to talk about it. Say another word and I'll break your jaw without a second thought."

"I know I know, you'll cut my hands off. You have become much more violent." Meg acknowledged.

"You try having the souls of some of the most evil creatures in existence in you and try not to have a few fucked up thoughts." Elena muttered.

Meg let out a laugh, throwing her head back.

"Cursing in the Vatican, if it were anyone other than the angels' precious girl, I would say you're going straight to my hometown."

Elena didn't reply as she flipped through a book.

"Is that why you couldn't give two shits about your boyfriend and his brother? What about your family and friends? We've been here for weeks and I haven't heard you complain about being away from any of them once." Meg acknowledged, knowing she was hitting a sore spot.

Elena gritted her teeth and shook her head.

"Don't talk about them." She snapped, throwing the book onto a shelf before turning back to the demon.

"You've had zero reaction to what I told you and that worries even me a little. I expected a giant blow up or a mental breakdown. Something… anything. All you've done is bury yourself in this stuff." Meg said, gesturing around.

"Having a breakdown won't help anything. All I need to do is figure out how to fix this mess." Elena said.

Meg quieted, shrugging as she turned to look through more books to try to find out information on the Leviathan. Elena walked to the other side of the large room, pulling her knife out as she did so before grabbing the book with a full list of Enochian sigils and what they did. She dug the knife into her hand, wincing as blood dripped out. Then she began drawing the sigils on the wall where she left of the day before. Her mind drifted off to three weeks earlier when Meg told her everything.

"_Azazel came to us just after what I assume was your birth. We'd been working on his special little children for so long that, when he put us on a different plan, we assumed it had something to do with it. Imagine our surprise when he told us he made a deal for protection. We weren't just going to protect one child. Oh no… we were going to protect an entire town." Meg said._

"_Mystic Falls?" Elena breathed._

"_Yep. We lived amongst you for years… watched little Elena Gilbert grow up to be all normal. Eventually we learned exactly who you were. The Petrova Doppelganger. When we found out, we thought we understood. We were supposed to keep your blood from creating one of the most powerful hybrid beings on earth. Of course, we were completely wrong." Meg said._

"_Why were you really there?" Elena questioned._

"_To keep you completely out of the apocalypse. To keep you in Mystic Falls in your happy little family none the wiser about any of the deeper shit in the world." _

_Elena let out a humorless laugh._

"_I hate you tell you, Meg, but you failed." She said, gesturing around._

"_Not my fault. If you want to blame anyone, blame your Winchesters." Meg snapped._

_She looked at Meg with confusion._

"You still haven't told me what these do." Meg said, walking up and watching as Elena drew them.

"They're angel-proofing sigils, very powerful ones. They won't hurt me because I still have humanity left in me but they'll keep the angels from even knowing about this place." she explained.

"So they'll pretty much never be able to get these weapons." Meg said, sounding impressed.

"As soon as you decide to high-tail it out of here, I'm drawing demon-proofing ones too so don't get any ideas about bringing your friends here for a raid." Elena warned her.

"I wouldn't dream of it." Meg said, moving away from her to let her continue. Elena's phone beeped in her pocket and she sighed, cursing the international calling that she had on it. She pulled it out and saw that there was a voicemail on it. Elena hesitated before dialing the mailbox and holding it to her ear. Her heart leapt and then sank when she heard Dean's voice.

"Hey, we're kinda… we're kinda having some trouble here. Sam's run off and I think he's getting worse. I have no idea what to do… I need your help. So can you just… can you come back? I'm really worried and I think it's about time I got an explanation for your disappearing act and your refusal to talk about it. So… call me back."

Elena squeezed her eyes shut as the voicemail ended, squeezing the phone in her hand as she fought to control her breath. Once she was calmed, she slid the phone into her pocket and looked up, sighing heavily before continuing on the sigil. Her mind went back to the memory to distract her.

"_They started causing trouble, hunting together again and wreaking havoc across the country. Azazel, as much as he hated it, had to recall everyone to fight them. They exorcised me… sent me back to hell and Alastair, those bastards. Then they killed Azazel. After that his forces broke apart and Mystic Falls, and you, were left unprotected since there was no one to fulfill the deal. That's when we started focusing on the impending apocalypse. I figured out from my memories of Azazel and Alastair that you were much more important than just a sacrifice for a pathetic vampire. I gathered a few grunts and rushed on to Mystic Falls but it was too late." _

"_What was too late?" Elena questioned._

_Meg stopped and turned to face her._

"_The angels already got to you."_

"_So this was after I left Mystic Falls to find Dean?" Elena questioned._

"_Nope, this was in 2009, May 23__rd__ to be exact." _

_Elena's face betrayed her horror at the date._

"_Why that date?" she demanded._

_"You won't believe me if I tell you… so why don't you let me show you? You can take a hop, skip, and a jump back in time right? It's just a few years." Meg said, holding her hand out._

_Elena hesitated._

"_Why would I want to relive that date?" she demanded._

"_Trust me when I say you're going to want to see this." _

"I'm done for now." Elena said as she stepped away from the wall, healing her hand as she looked over the sigils on the wall.

"Congratulations. No angels allowed." Meg said appreciatively.

"I'm leaving now." She decided, turning away as Dean's voicemail echoed through her head.

"We just got started? Research on the Leviathan? Remember?" Meg reminded her as she walked for the door once she grabbed her bag.

"Not anymore. Dean called and he needs my help." Elena said, holding the door open for the demon to leave the room.

"Oh now you're deciding to give a shit about him? We have more important things to do. You have more important things to do than run after those brothers cleaning up their messes. Shut up, Meg. Get out." Elena shoved her through the door and slammed it closed, dropping the key into her bag.

"If you betray me, I'll roast you alive." Elena threatened Meg before pressing the button on the wall to call Angelo to them.

* * *

Elena didn't waste any time as she entered the hotel room, throwing all of her clothes and stuff into a bag before quickly changing out of her dress and into jeans and a more comfortable shirt and jacket with heeled black boots. She grabbed her bag and called down to the desk to tell them that she was checking out. Before they could protest, she disappeared from the motel room, intent on finding out what was going on back home. She concentrated on Bobby, wanting to talk to him before Dean. When she appeared in a dirty old motel room in front of the older hunter, he almost dropped his bottle of whiskey.

"Damn! You scared the hell out of me!" he growled.

"Sorry Bobby." Elena said guiltily, looking ashamed.

He moved forward and grabbed her into a hug, crushing her to him. She sighed and returned it gently.

"You had us all worried, girl. Where the hell you been?"

"That's a story for another day." Elena answerd, dropping her bag on the ground and sitting on the bed. "What's going on with Sam?"

Bobby sighed before launching in what happened over the past few weeks. By the time he was done, Elena knew she had to go to Dean and help him even though she wasn't ready to see him and answer all the questions he was sure to have.

"I'll go to them. Can you watch my bag for me?" she asked, standing up.

"Yeah I can but…"

Elena looked at Bobby as he cut off.

"But what?" she asked.

"You seem different… sad. Are you all right?" he questioned.

Elena smiled sadly, knowing she wasn't fooling anyone.

"I'm fine, Bobby." She said softly before disappearing.

She reappeared in Dean's car, staring out the windshield as he jumped and cursed.

"What the hell?" he demanded, sounding angry and hurt.

"Hi." Elena answered, unable to look at him.

Finally, as his eyes bored into her, she turned to him and allowed herself to check over him to see if he was all right.

"Where've you been?"

"I'll tell you later when it's you and Sam." Elena answered, looking around. "Where is he? Where are you going?"

Dean's face adopted a hardened look and he turned back to the windshield.

"To handle something that Sam can't." he answered.

Elena listened as he explained the entire story, going back and forth between the old case years ago to the one that was happening in the last few days. She nodded along and as soon as he finished, she knew exactly what he was going to handle.

"I'll go with you." she said.

Dean nodded, looking tense as they drove down the road.

* * *

They were sitting on the couch when the woman entered. She didn't notice them at first until she turned on the light and gasped when she saw them.

"Next time you run, you should change your license plates. Keeping the same tags makes you easy to track." Dean said, holding a knife in his hands.

Elena stared at the ground as they spoke to each other, her mind going back to the memory.

_She sighed heavily, her throat going dry as she took Meg's hand and concentrated, taking herself to the one place and time she never wanted to see again. They landed on the side of the bridge and Elena felt a sense of apprehension and fear in her. Elena knew what was coming and she didn't want to see or hear it._

"_Stay quiet. I mean, silent." Meg warned her, pulling her back into the shadows of the darkness._

_In the next moment, another being appeared in the road just as headlights came around the corner. Elena watched with a horrified look as the car screeched, swerving to avoid the person and crashing over the side of the bridge. She barely caught a glimpse of her parents and herself before the car plunged into the river. She let out a whimper as her fists clenched. Her eyes focused on the figure as he turned, looking confused and out of place. Then another figure appeared beside him and Elena immediately recognized him._

"_Oh my God." She murmured, squinting through the darkness._

"_You did well, Ion." Uriel said, patting the other angel's arm._

"_What am I doing here? What did I just do?" Ion asked, looking back at the destroyed barrier on the bridge._

"_You did something good in the service of the angels and of God. It's time to go back to heaven now. You've done your work and now the apocalypse will happen as soon as that girl joins the Winchesters." Uriel said._

"_The what?" the angel asked, panicking with wide eyes._

"_It's no matter. You're going to visit Naomi anyhow." Uriel said before they disappeared._

_Elena barely heard their last words as she tried to process what just happened. The angels… killed her parents. They caused the crash._

"_I told you… it's bad." Meg said, watching her._

"_Why?" she whispered._

"_Because they needed you to help the brothers get to where they could start the apocalypse. You were an integral part of the whole plan. Azazel knew that and he was trying to keep it from happening. The angels knew that your parents' death would set you on a path that would lead to Lucifer rising and they hoped that Michael would battle him and bring Paradise." Meg explained._

_Elena shook her head, feeling a stab of fury._

"_They killed my parents for their stupid plan?" she growled._

"_If Azazel hadn't been killed, he would have been able to stop it. He would have kept you alive." Meg said._

"_It's not their fault… Sam and Dean… they were killing the demon who killed their mother." _

"_But if they hadn't… your mother would still be alive. Your father too. And your aunt and your biological father and your biological mother and everyone else who died ever since your parents. You can't help but resent the brothers a little… right?" Meg urged her._

"_Shut up." Elena growled, grasping her arm and yanking them back to the present._

"_We are done talking about the Winchesters and Azazel and everything. I don't want to hear about it. You're going to tell me about this…" she held up the key Cas gave her. "… and you're going to to tell me everything Cas told you."_

"_Fine." Meg fired back, crossing her arms over her chest._

Elena yanked herself out of the memory. She looked up to see Dean advancing on Amy. He looked like he already regretted what he had to do and Elena knew, in that moment, that she couldn't let it happen. She drew her knife as quickly as she could and walked up, tears spilling down her face as she shoved the dagger into the woman's back. Dean looked at her with shock as the dagger dropped from her hand and the body dropped to the floor. Elena didn't look at him, staring away from him as echoes of her parents' death flashed through her mind. A death that was completely her fault as well as the angels. They killed her parents to get to her. Dean's voice snapped her out of her vision.

"Elena? Where the hell have you been? It's been weeks." he demanded.

She fought to keep her voice calm, turning her eyes to his as more tears slipped from her burning eyes.

"They weren't supposed to die."

"Who?" Dean asked, confused.

"My parents. Aunt Jenna. Uncle John… they were never supposed to die."

That was when she fell apart, her emotions breaking through as she felt the pain of it all rush at her. She barely remembered Dean talking to a little kid before he helped her out of the motel room and she blacked on the way to the car.

* * *

Dean, Sam, and Bobby all stared at her with shock as she finished her story, wrapped up in blankets on the lumpy motel room couch. She left out the part of killing the Kitsune since Sam wasn't supposed to know that his old friend was dead. Elena didn't feel guilty about it since she saved Dean from the guilt of killing his brother's friend.

"Cas gave you all of the weapons of heaven?" Dean asked, shocked.

"Not just the weapons… everything. Books and stuff. A lot of information. I have to keep it safe, I mean it. I can't even tell you guys where it is just in case." She said apologetically.

"It makes sense." Bobby said before the brothers could argue. "Can't be too paranoid, especially with these Leviathans out and about."

"Did you find anything on them?" Sam asked.

She shook her head, sipping at the water she was holding.

"I can't believe the angels killed your parents." Dean said.

"I can believe it. They've done nothing but fuck up our lives from the very beginning. It looks pretty bad for the angels when the demons were trying harder to protect me than they were." Elena said.

None of them said a word. Elena stared down at her hands. She didn't just leave out the part about the Kitsune. She didn't want to add to their burden so she didn't tell them that if Azazel hadn't been killed, her parents would most likely be alive. They didn't deserve to have that guilt. Dean reached out and took her hand, bringing her attention back to him.

"Are you all right?"

She shook her head, tearing up.

"No." she whimpered. "How do I explain this to Jeremy? How do I tell him that our parents died because of me? That everyone died because of me? I can't face him."

Dean leaned forward and held her as she cried, all of her emotions finally releasing as she'd kept them bottled up for weeks.

"I hate them. I hate the angels so much, Dean." She sobbed.

"Shh… I know." He comforted her as Sam and Bobby drifted off to leave them in privacy.

"I hate them for killing my parents. I hate them for destroying your life and Sam's life. I hate them for lying to us and manipulating us to achieve their ends. I hate them for killing people and being so… horrible. I hate Cas the most. I hate him so much for making me love him and care for him and then dying. I want him back so badly, Dean. I want to hear him explain and I want to tell him that I hate him and love him. I want to tell him that I forgive him but I can't. I just… hate them." She wailed.

Dean didn't say anything, pulling her into his lap and letting her cry into his shirt.

* * *

Elena slipped out of the motel room once they were all asleep. She walked out to the Impala, pushing herself up onto the roof and leaning back, lying down to look at the stars. The room was stifling and she refused to sleep. Elena was taking full advantage of the fact that she didn't have to sleep over the past few weeks, knowing that if she shut her eyes, nightmares about her parents' death would take over her dreams. She heard footsteps walking up to her and her body instantly went into alert as she sat up, preparing to defend herself.

"Calm down, Xena. It's just me." Meg said, pushing herself up onto the hood beside Elena.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"I heard whispers. Figured I'd come warn you." the demon answered.

"Why?" Elena questioned.

"Because, believe it or not, I don't have many friends. I'd like to keep myself in your good graces so that, if need be, I can be worthy enough to help you or maybe even receive a little help from you." Meg explained.

Elena didn't say anything, just nodding for Meg to get along with it.

"The Leviathan are hunting the Winchesters down. They have more than one on their tail. It won't be long before they change tactics when they realize how good the boys are at evasion. They're going to go after you and they will use you to their advantage." Meg said.

"What does that mean?" Elena asked.

"It means watch yourself. Don't ever tell anyone I said this but I kinda like you. If they get to you, they will sink their claws so deep into you that you won't even remember who Elena Gilbert is. Trust me, you want to find a way to kill them before they find a way to get to you. Because if they do get to you, I might even start praying for God to save us because no one else is going to be able to." Meg said, sliding off of the Impala.

"You say that as if I'm some weapon." Elena called after her as she walked away.

Meg turned back with a smirk but Elena could see the flash of fear in her eyes.

"The things you don't know about yourself could fill a book." she said simply before disappearing.

* * *

**Sorry if this chapter feels disconnected and jumpy, I tried to make it flow but it was kind of hard. Review please!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own TVD or Supernatural**

**Thanks to everyone who is reading and reviewing, I really appreciate it!**

**Elena's outfits are on my profile.**

**I hope you like it!**

* * *

"I know, Jer. I want to see you too. We'll stop by Mystic Falls later, okay?" Elena sighed as they climbed out of the car.

"We just miss you over here, Elena. I know all of that happened with Castiel and…"

"I'll be there as soon as I can, I promise." Elena cut him off, avoiding talking about Cas again.

Jeremy sighed.

"Okay just… stay safe, all right? And don't blame yourself too much for everything that goes wrong. I know you like to do that but it's not good for you. Guilt will only lead to bad things." he requested.

Elena was taken aback for a moment by her brother's ease in sensing her emotions over the phone.

"I'll try, Jer." She agreed. "I have to go, we're at a crime scene. I love you."

She hung up and Dean glanced over at her. She stared back, nodding at him to signal that everything was all right. He nodded rigidly and looked away, walking up to the yellow tape with Sam beside him pressing his hand to his left hand over the scar. Elena noticed but didn't say anything, knowing that Sam didn't want to talk about it. Things with him got worse since she left but every time they brought it up he brushed it off and claimed he was fine.

"Feels wonky." Dean said as they walked.

"What?" Sam questioned, snapping out of his trance.

"Working a regular job." He explained.

"Bobby'll call if anything flares up on the Leviathan front. In the meantime, you know you want to work this case, Dean. Cop on the wire sounded dumbfounded." Sam reminded him.

"No arguments. It's kind of nice, you know? We're due for a little cut and dry. And, uh..."

Dean stopped as they reached the tape and they all three held up their badges to the policeman monitoring the barrier. He lifted it it and Dean and Sam let Elena duck under it first before following her.

"You seem good." Dean said.

Elena furrowed her brow, wondering if Dean really couldn't tell that something was wrong with Sam.

"I am. For me. By the way..." Sam stopped and turned, looking at Dean. "… thank you."

Elena stopped a few steps ahead of them and turned to look at them, waiting on them to go up to the crime scene.

"For?" Dean questioned.

"Amy."

Dean's eyes widened slightly and flickered past him to Elena, who'd paled a little bit. The Kitsune they killed was part of the reason for the slight rift in their relationship. They both felt guilty over it even though they felt that it was the right thing to do. They felt guilty because Sam thought that his friend was still out there alive.

"I know you didn't want to let her go, but it was the right thing to do. So, thanks."

Dean nodded after a moment as Elena turned away from them, brushing her hair out of her face with shaking hands.

"No problem." Dean said, faking a smile to Sam.

They took the elevator up to the tenth floor and climbed out to see the hallway filled with policemen. They slid past them to the door of the apartment and flashed their badges again to the man standing guard there. The detective in there glanced up at them as they glanced around the room. Blood was splattered on a wall with a large hole in it, bricks crumbled around everywhere.

"Welcome to Crazytown, population… one dead guy." The detective said, focusing on them.

"Who was he?" Sam questioned.

"Uh, Matthew Hammond. Seems to have been crushed to death."

"By?" Dean asked.

"Well, if we weren't on the tenth floor, I'd say by a car." He answered.

Sam sneakily took out his EMF reader as the detective wandered off to answer another officer's question.

"It's going crazy." He hissed to them.

"Some kind of ghost?" Elena wondered, glancing around to see if there was any ectoplasm anywhere.

"With a license? License to kill." Dean said, smirking slightly.

"Seriously?" Sam rolled his eyes before noticing something on the floor and squatting down. "Huh."

He pinched the substance between his fingers.

"What do you got?" Dean asked once he straightened up.

"I don't know. Looks like some kind of powder." Sam answered, showing it to them.

"Sulfur?" Dean suggested.

"No. Just dirt. Could be Christine-like." he said.

"Ugh. Even possessed cars can't do stairs. It's something spectral." Dean said with certainty as Elena walked over to the table, pushing some things aside.

She picked up a token and glanced at it.

"AA, 10 years." She informed them, turning towards them as she held up the token.

Sam held his hand out for it and she tossed it to him.

"Dead and sober." Dean scoffed. "Double crappy."

Elena shook her head and looked at some papers with Sam.

"There's a charge keeps coming up. Fifty bucks a month at a place called Jane's." Sam said, reading them off. "All right. Congrats on your sobriety."

He tossed the token over to Dean.

"We'll go find out what Jane's is." Sam said, gesturing between him and Elena.

Dean glanced at Elena before shaking his head. She watched him with confusion as he turned back to Sam.

"I gave up AA for Lent." He said, tossing it back.

"We're not Catholic." Sam scoffed.

"Always with the details. AA gives me the jeebs." Dean said, shuddering for show.

"Wow. Shocker." Sam commented, rolling his eyes.

"Shut up." Dean shot back.

"Fine." Sam sighed. "I'll hit the meeting, you two go hit up Jane."

Elena stared at Dean with suspicion before she followed him out of the room.

* * *

"Matt was a nice guy. Kind of a tortured soul. Join the club. But he just seemed to have a lot going on."

Sam nodded as she spoke.

"Any idea what it was? Family, a girl?" he questioned.

"He played it all pretty close to the vest. Something was eating at him, though, the last time I saw him. He almost slipped." She was his AA sponsor.

"When?" Sam asked.

"Just before he died, I guess. Called me from Neal's Tavern. Said he was an inch away from drinking. So I ran over, talked him off the ledge." She explained.

"Well, do you know what triggered it?" he hoped that she would know to make their job a little easier.

"Like I said, he didn't share much." she shrugged, looking sad and sorry for her lack of information.

* * *

They entered and walked to the counter, a foot between them as they reached it.

"May I help you?" the woman asked, smiling politely.

"Uh, yes. we, uh..."

They both held up their FBI badges.

"Just had a few questions about a customer of yours, name of Matthew Hammond." Dean finished.

"Uh, sure. He's not in trouble, is he?" Jane asked, her forehead creasing with concern.

Dean exchanged a look with Elena, nodding at her to break the news.

"Actually, Mr. Hammond is no longer with us." She said softly, doing her best to look sympathetic.

"Oh." Jane sighed. "Now it all makes sense."

"What does?" Dean questioned.

"He came in, couple days ago, paid me three years in advance to keep his monthly delivery going." She explained.

"And where do the flowers go?" Elena asked.

"A Miss Elizabeth Duren." She nodded with certainty.

"You mind, uh, writing Elizabeth's address down? We'd like to pay her a visit." Dean requested, sliding her a writing pad and a pen.

The woman looked at them both strangely.

* * *

It was dark out when they walked into the graveyard, all three of them holding flashlights.

"Here we go. Meet Elizabeth Duren." Dean said, shining his light on a particularly large gravestone.

They all read it closely.

"Died at 10. Wow. So, who was she?" Sam wondered.

"I don't know. Why don't we chew on it back at the motel?" Dean suggested.

They nodded and turned to follow him back to the Impala.

* * *

Elena was reading news stories on her phone as Sam and Dean both surfed through the internet on their computers.

"Elizabeth Duren." Sam announced, reading off of an article as they looked up at him."Killed 10 years ago when a neighbor backed out of his driveway. Didn't see her bike. No one was ever charged. Police ruled it an accident."

"Let me guess. The neighbor's our tenth-floor pancake." Dean said.

Sam nodded, turning to look at them.

"At least we know he felt bad. I mean, the flowers..." Elena trailed off.

"Kind of makes you wonder if the guy wasn't drunk when he ran her over."

Sam and Elena both watched as he took a long swig from a beer just as he said that, their eyes narrowing.

"Yeah." Sam scoffed before shaking his head and standing.

"All right. Well, regardless, now that we got a decent bead on ghost rider, let's go." he said as Elena pulled on her boots and jacket.

"What?" Dean said as they walked towards the door to the motel room.

They glanced back at him with raised eyebrows.

"Burn her bones. Put her to rest." Sam reminded him.

Dean groaned, tossing his empty beer into the trash.

"The fun never stops." He sighed as he followed them out.

* * *

Dean stumbled into the room with exhaustion clear on his face as they walked in.

"Oh, another night at the office. Why don't you take the first shower?" he said, nodding at Elena.

Before she could answer, Sam read something off of the newspaper he was reading.

"Listen to this. A local man, Christopher Fisher, was ripped to shreds in a wild animal attack last night."

"It is a dangerous world out there." Dean sighed, sliding his jacket off and flopping back onto the bed.

Sam and Elena sat at the table sipping their coffees.

"He was in the restroom of a diner." Sam said.

Dean sat up again, looking unhappy.

"Yeah, that doesn't sound right." he groaned.

"Apparently, uh, none of the patrons saw anything. Guy calls 911, screaming about a dog, but the operator didn't hear anything, either." He said, turning on his laptop and typing in the victim's name. "Wow. Looks like this guy had a history with dogs."

Elena and Dean looked at him.

"Meaning?" the former questioned.

"Five years ago, he was arrested for running a dog-fighting operation." Sam explained.

"Classy." Dean commented. "All right. So, what? He causes so much misery that some Rottweiler goes Cujo on him from beyond the grave? Wait a second. Do... do dogs even have ghosts?"

"First I've heard of it." Sam shrugged.

"That sounds weird. Ghost dog?" Dean said, shrugging.

"No weirder than ghost car, you know?" Sam reminded him.

"You know what does make sense? Vengeance on the guy that Michael Vick'd you. I mean, I'm no one to judge, but it sounds to me like that guy had it coming." Dean shrugged.

"Maybe... but maybe not. So, he got busted, got probation, started volunteering at an animal shelter."

Sam turned the computer so they could see an article with the victim holding a dog with a big smile.

"Yeah, 'cause he had to." Dean reminded him.

"At first, yeah. But he kept going long after he served his time. Looks like he got really into it. Raised a lot of money for the cause." Elena said, reading off the article.

"Huh." Dean grunted, blinking quickly.

"People change." Sam said, watching him with a furrowed brow.

"Yeah, tell that to ghost dog." Dean said before yawning.

"All right. Uh, get suited up. Let's go check out the body." Sam said, standing up.

"What?" Dean whimpered, looking like he just wanted to sleep.

"Sam and I will go." Elena sighed. "You stay here and get some sleep."

Dean stared after her as she walked to her suitcase to grab some clothes.

"Nah, I'll go." he grumbled, standing and walking to the closet to get a suit.

Elena turned and stared at him with an unbelieving look.

"Seriously? Dean you're exhausted." She said.

"I'll be fine." He shrugged off.

She let out a sharp breath and shook her head, torn between smacking him over the head and forcing him to remain behind. She did neither, simply following them out of the room once they were dressed in professional clothing. When they got to the hospital, Dean was practically slumped over the steering wheel. Elena didn't give him a choice this time, forcing him to stay outside as she and Sam went in.

* * *

When they walked out, Elena was dismayed to see that Dean was leaning against the car looking stubborn. She narrowed her eyes at him but Sam stopped her before she could say anything.

"So, guess what we found." Dean glanced up at his voice and nodded at him to continue. "Red dirt. Under his nails. On his shoes, too." Sam explained.

"Just like the, uh, car-crash guy's floor?" Dean commented, walking around to the driver's side.

Elena remained silent, climbing in the passenger seat as Sam slid into the back.

"Yeah. So, gotta be someplace around here they both walked." Sam acknowledged.

* * *

"An apple farm?" Dean questioned as they drove down the road, passing through the outskirts of town and onto a two-lane road surrounded by fields.

Sam found the information related to the dirt online and they were on their way to the farm.

"Yeah. Apparently whatever's in red dirt makes great apples." Sam nodded.

"Wow. I'd be so interested in that if I ate apples." Dean said, rolling his eyes.

Sam and Elena remained silent for a moment.

"Dean… what do you think is in apple pie?" Elena finally said, both of them fighting back a smile.

Sam didn't succeed, smirking over at Dean. He looked thoughtful for a moment before scoffing and shaking his head.

"So this one's supposed to be pretty old, uh, mostly abandoned. Few hundred acres." Sam said, distracting Dean from his moment of forgetfulness.

"A few hundred?! We're gonna be searching all year." Dean snapped.

At that moment, a graying old man ran out onto the road and held his arms out to stop the car with a fearful look.

"Whoa! Holy shit!"

Dean stomped on the brakes and the Impala squealed to a stop. They all shared an uncertain look before climbing out of the car. They all approached the man slowly, wary of him.

"Hey. Uh... you okay?" Sam asked with uncertainty.

"Guy just jumped in front of a car, Sam." Dean said as if that should answer it for him.

"Do you need help, sir?" Elena asked as the man bent over, his hands on his knees as he breathed hard.

He didn't answer, his eyes darting around fearfully.

"Okay, well, why don't we get you out of here before you get roadkilled, huh?" Dean suggested.

"Yeah." The man nodded, following them to the Impala.

* * *

Elena handed the man a glass of water before sitting next to him. He drank it with shaky hands.

"So, Warren. Just, uh, take a minute. Tell us what's going on." Sam said in a quiet voice.

He and Dean were sitting across from them in the chairs that belonged at the motel room table.

"Look… you're good people, I can see that, but you can't do anything for me. No one can." Warren said, his voice betraying his fear.

"Why not?" Dean questioned, his brow furrowing.

"Cause it's all impossible. You won't even believe me." Warren sighed.

"Try us." Elena said confidently.

He stared around at them, seeing the same solemnity and look beyond their years in their eyes.

"I was just put on trial and sentenced to death." He admitted.

They all stared at him for a moment.

"What'd you do?" Dean questioned.

"Held up a liquor store. I killed the owner and his wife. I wasn't thinking. I was young." He sighed.

"Young? When was this?" Elena asked, confused.

"1981." Warren answered.

"And they just put you on trial?" Dean asked, shocked.

"No, no…" he shook his head with a sigh. "I just got out of prison."

"Okay, you're making less sense the more you talk." Dean said, shaking his head as he got up from his chair.

Sam stood and put a restraining arm across his abdomen.

"No, it's okay. Just... go on." he said, pushing Dean back down to sit.

"Did thirty years. I just got paroled. Not that you're ever free of that. I think about it every day." Warren said emotionally, his eyes shining.

"So, then, what were you running from?" Elena asked.

"Well, I told you… the trial! All I know is, one minute I'm at the bar, and the next, I get jumped, wake up in a damn courtroom."

"Courtroom? Like a... courtroom?" Dean questioned.

"Well, no. There was a judge. Everything was crazy. It was in a barn." He explained, sounding as though he hardly believed himself.

"At the apple farm?" Sam confirmed.

"Yeah." Warren nodded.

"And this bar where you were grabbed?" Elena said.

"Neal's Tavern." He answered.

Sam exchanged a look with Elena before leaning over to Dean.

"Same place Matthew Hammond went before his... car accident. Think maybe dog guy went there, too?" he murmured before turning back to the older man. "Is there anything else you can tell us?"

"You believe me?" he asked, shocked. "Who the hell are you?"

"We kind of... specialize in crazy. So, uh, this judge… he got a name?" Sam answered.

"No. But there was these weird symbols." Warren informed them.

"Symbols? Do you remember any of 'em? Can you draw them?" Sam asked, handing Warren some paper and a pencil.

"Excuse us a sec." Dean said, grabbing Sam's sleeve. "Can I talk to you?"

Sam glanced at Elena and she nodded to tell them that she would stay with Warren.

* * *

"What is it?" Sam demanded once they got outside of the motel and were standing on the street.

"What is it? Sam, uh... how about a drunk driver, Michael Vick, a murderer?" Dean listed off.

"And?" the younger Winchester said, shrugging.

"And... when did our black-and-white case turn to mud? I'm just saying I'm having a hard time not rooting for the ghosts on this one."

"No, you said it yourself… it's not on us to judge." Sam reminded him.

"Yeah, except that that's complete crap. Everybody judges all day long. Look, I'm just supposed to ignore what that guy did?" Dean demanded.

"We've shot people, Dean… more than two." he said.

"Yeah, you know what? When those ghosts come to kick my ass, they've got a compelling case." Dean said confidently, not doubting his words in the slightest.

"So, what, you're saying… what? You don't want to work the job anymore?" Sam asked.

"I'm just saying, you know, one simple friggin' day on the job… is that too much to ask?" Dean sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"Well, look. I'm gonna go out, I'm gonna go try and find that barn. You coming?" Sam asked.

"I'm gonna check the bar." Dean said, turning to walk away.

"To work or drink?" Sam questioned, causing Dean to turn back to him.

"I haven't decided." He shrugged before walking off.

* * *

"What's going on?" Warren demanded as Sam walked back in and began packing a duffle of weapons.

"Where'd he go?" Elena questioned, standing up.

"He, uh..." Sam began to answer her before glancing over at Warren. "… everything's fine. Look, let's go back to that farm."

"Oh, no, no. No, I'm not going back." Warren said, shaking his head.

"Warren, I need your help finding that barn." Sam argued.

"It's red… it stands out. I'm not going back. They're out there." he stressed.

"Who?" Elena asked.

"The people I killed. I just… no. No!" Warren refused.

"You're safer with us than not." Sam said.

"No." Warren repeated.

Sam sighed and turned to Elena.

"Dean went to the bar. He needs back up."

"What about Warren?" she questioned.

Sam reached over and grabbed the piece of paper the other man was holding. Then he grabbed a container of salt and made a circle around a chair before forcing him to sit down.

"We need you to stay inside this circle until we get back, okay? It'll protect you." Sam said.

"How?" Warren questioned, confused.

"Just trust me, okay? I'm trying to help." Sam said.

Elena turned on the television and tossed the remote to Warren.

"Stay put." Sam said before they turned to walk out.

Sam pulled out his phone as they closed the door and locked it.

"Bobby? Hey. Me. Listen… I'm sending you some symbols to look up." He said.

"I'll go find Dean. Stay safe, call if you need something." Elena said, turning to walk off.

* * *

Dean sighed as he sank into the barstool.

"Hey. What can I get ya?"

He glanced up to see a pretty blonde bartender waiting on his order.

"Scotch and soda."

She nodded, pulling out the glass.

"You know, hold the soda. Make it a double."

The woman shrugged and pulled out the bottle, pouring out a scotch.

"So, you, uh… you work the night shift?" Dean asked.

"Why? You plan on making this a regular thing?" the blonde asked with a coy grin.

Dean let out a laugh and shook his head.

"No, I just got a few questions. Believe it or not I'm a cop." Dean informed her.

"I believe it. You look like you've seen some crap."

Dean sighed and nodded, agreeing entirely with her.

"I'm sorry, I was off all week, but Frank'll be back tomorrow." She said.

"Right."

Dean grabbed the glass and down it in one gulp.

"Eh... I'll do another."

"Love life or job?" he looked up at her with surprise. "Two quick doubles, it's something. I'm Mia, by the way."

"Well, Mia, that is a complex question. I'm Dean, by the way." he replied.

"Well, Dean, luckily I'm like a captive shrink with unlimited alcohol. So, shoot." She said, pouring his drink.

Dean let out another laugh, pulling the glass towards him.

"You like to hear people's problems, do ya?" he asked.

"I get curious. On occasion." Mia shrugged, pouring a drink for herself and leaning against the bar as she drank it.

"Both work and love life… since you asked." Mia nodded at his response. "You ever, uh... you ever do something behind someone's back because you had to?"

"Now you feel bad? Well, Dean, if you had to, why feel guilty? That doesn't make any sense." She shrugged.

"Hmm." He grunted just before they clinked glasses together. "Well, you know, we don't have enough room for the worms if we pop that can, sister."

He set his glass down and tapped it to indicate that he wanted more.

"You may want to slow your roll there." she said, lifting the scotch bottle up again and pouring him a drink.

"The more I drink, the better I tip." Dean said, a grin on his face.

"Yeah, well, there is a beautiful yet pissed off brunette stomping towards you right now so you might want to have your wits about you for this. She looks like a smart one." Mia said knowingly.

Dean turned in time for Elena to reach his side, her eyes flashing angrily.

"Getting drunk on the job, very smart of you Detective." She snapped, grabbing the drink out of his hand.

"Oh you're working? That's not good." Mia acknowledged.

Elena turned her eyes on the bartender and they narrowed slightly.

"Don't bother flirting with him. He has no dick." She snapped, putting the scotch to her lips and drinking it quickly, slamming it onto the bar. "If he did, he would fess up to what he's doing."

Dean stared up at her.

"And what am I doing?" He fired back.

"You know exactly what you're doing." Elena said icily before hauling him up to a standing position.

Her hand slid into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. She placed a few bills on the counter before grabbing his arm and yanking him out of the bar. Both of them were unaware of the figure who was watching him so they didn't see when he slipped out of a different door. When they were in the alleyway, Elena let go of his arm and whirled around.

"Why don't I have a dick again?" Dean asked, quirking an eyebrow at her.

"You're angry at me and I want to know why so you might as well get it out of your system. What are you pissed about?" she demanded.

Dean sighed and ran his hands down his face, feeling slightly buzzed from the alcohol.

"You should have let me kill Amy." Dean finally said.

Elena scoffed and shook her head, turning away from him to glare at the wall.

"Yeah and let you drown yourself in guilt and whiskey while I stand by uselessly watching you and your brother's relationship fall apart. Good one, Dean. Oh wait… that's already happening whether I like it or not." She shot back.

"It wasn't your problem to take care of. It was mine." Dean snapped.

"What happened to, we share our problems? Or did that go away when purgatory's souls were shoved down my throat and I was forced to do things against my will?" Elena fired at him, turning her head to glare at him.

"Are you trying to say that I don't trust you?" he demanded, his hands tightening on the steering wheel.

"If the shoe fits." She said icily, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I trust you just as much as I've always trusted you!" he said defensively.

"Oh yeah that's why you're keeping me in eyesight all of the time. Or why you're always really close to me when I'm on the phone or you question me about who it was when I hang up." Elena reminded him.

"Well maybe I'm worried about you disappearing for three weeks again with a damn demon!" he said loudly.

"I would have disappeared whether or not Meg was with me, Dean. I was finding stuff out, researching. Maybe you could be a little grateful. I might have even picked up some knowledge that could save your life!" she spat out.

"Maybe you could have hung around and realized that you're not the only one who lost someone the day that Cas went into that river!"

Elena stared at him with shock. She opened her mouth to say something but at that moment they were both thrown into the wall and knocked out, a shadowed figure standing over them looking triumphant.

* * *

Sam climbed out of the Impala once he pulled up to the barn. He walked into the building and glanced around, immediately seeing that the floor was made of red dirt. His phone rang as he turned and he pulled it out.

"Hey, Bobby, what do ya got?" Sam questioned.

"Those chicken scratches… definitely Egyptian. Book of the Dead." The older hunter answered.

"So, good news, then." Sam sighed.

"They identify the God Osiris. Real authoritarian type. He gets ahold of you, he's judge, jury, and executioner. Lore says that he can see directly into the human heart. He weighs the guilt. If he finds more than a feather's worth – boom, you're done."

"So what's he doing in Dearborn?" he wondered.

"Well, it seems like he just pops up and does his circuit-judge act and then disappears again. That's all I got so far." Bobby informed him. "You know what this means."

"Yeah. We've got to find him before he goes underground again." Sam agreed.

"No, you idjit. It means you three got to get the hell out of Dodge. This guy hones in on people who feel guilty. Who does that sound like to you?" Bobby reminded him and Sam's heart dropped.

Ten minutes later, he sighed as he hung up his phone, failing to get in contact with either Elena or Dean's phones. After a few moments of him standing beside the Impala, his phone rang. He looked down and sighed with relief when he saw Dean's name flashing on it.

"Dean. About time, man. I…"

"Uh, hello?" an unfamiliar female voice said.

"Who is this?" Sam asked, confused.

"Oh, well, I just… I picked this off the ground, where I've been standing for ten minutes listening to it ring. Is this Dean's phone?"

"Yeah." He answered warily.

"Well... he was dragged out of the bar by a furious brunette and I think they fought out here. There's a little bit of blood. Do you think she kicked his ass?" the woman asked, sounding amused.

Sam's eyes widened.

"Where are you? I can be right there."

* * *

"Uh, here it is." Mia handed Sam the phone as they stood outside of the bar. "Uh, well, I hope they're okay."

"Now, where exactly did you find this phone?" Sam questioned.

"Uh... there." she pointed and he nodded.

"Thanks." He sighed before walking over.

He bent down and immediately found red dirt among the gravel.

* * *

Elena and Dean's eyes both skirted over the barn, staring at the ornate golden throne and Egyptian statues. They were chained up in chairs side-by-side behind a table.

"Really, Warren? All you noticed were the symbols?" Dean muttered as he struggled with the chains.

"Quit squirming, Mr. Winchester."

They both looked up with surprise to see a man in ornate robes sitting on the throne.

"They're Houdini-proof."

Elena pressed her lips together, wondering if even she couldn't get out of them. She didn't try, remaining perfectly still.

"Now, you want to talk charges, or..."

"Which one of us is on trial?" Elena demanded, interrupting him.

"Both of you. Mr. Winchester is up first, you're time will come." The man said, smiling at her before focusing back on Dean.

"I'd rather talk about your Bukowski schtick at the bar. What, you can't jump a guy when he's sober?" Dean demanded.

"You and that waitress had quite a talk, huh? Get a couple drinks in you, and the guilt comes pouring out." the man said, ignoring his question.

"Oh, eavesdropping… that's cute." Dean snapped.

"Speaking of... you're gonna skulk all night, Sam?"

Elena and Dean turned as the door slid open by itself, revealing Sam standing there with a shotgun. He walked into the room slowly, his eyes flickering over them before going back to the man on the throne.

"Nice job finding us. I assume you figured out who I am, too?" the man said.

"Yeah." Sam nodded, his eyes flickering to Elena.

"You want to fill us in?" Dean questioned.

"Osiris. He's an Egyptian God." Sam said, still looking at the only female in the room.

She gave him an almost imperceptible nod, indicating that she understood before she faced the god again, her face in an unemotional mask.

"Ta-da! Now, go about your business, Sammy." Osiris said, waving a hand at him.

"Look, if anyone should be on trial, it's me." Sam said.

"That's for me to decide. Now go away." The Egyptian god said again.

"But they… they have the right to an attorney. Don't they?" Sam said, trying to come up with a reason to stay.

"Huh." Osiris said thoughtfully.

"Let me defend them." Sam pleaded.

"Well, that's unusual." The god commented.

"Are you gonna respect their rights or not?" Sam demanded.

The man on the throne thought for a moment before shrugging.

"Why not?" he said, gesturing to a new chair that materialized on the other side of Dean.

"Uh, Sam? You're not a lawyer." Dean hissed at him.

"I was pre-law." Sam whispered back.

"Yeah, pre." Dean stressed.

"All right, then. Let's get started. Now, the list of witnesses I can call… endless." Osiris said.

"Objection!" Sam exclaimed.

"Are you gonna let me finish my sentence, Sam?"

"No. This isn't fair."

"Fair?" Osiris asked, looking taken aback. "I'm sorry. Moving on. I can make it very simple. Three witnesses."

"Objection!" Sam repeated.

Dean and Elena looked at him with matching questioning looks, wondering what he was doing.

"Grounds?" Osiris questioned.

"Witness is being called without prior notice." Sam said in a smaller voice.

"Good one." Dean whispered.

"I saw that on The Good Wife." Sam murmured back.

Elena rolled her eyes at both of them.

"Yes. Very fine objection. Denied!" Osiris decided.

"What? Why?" Sam asked, panicked.

"Because I'm the judge, son. Now stop objecting, or I'll find you in contempt… that is, kill you. So I advise you to let me move it along. The prosecution calls Joanna Beth Harvelle to the stand."

They all stared with surprise as Jo appeared in a chair.

"What the hell?" she glanced around with shock before she caught sight of them.

"Hey Jo." They all said at once, none of them looking amused.

"What's going on?" the female hunter tried to stand but found herself pinned to the chair.

That was when she noticed Osiris on his throne.

"State your name for the court." he said.

"Court?" she said, confused.

"Just do it, Jo." Sam said, nodding at her as he knew that they had to play along with this for the time being.

His eyes flickered over to Elena nervously to see a small look of concentration on her face.

"Jo Harvelle." The blonde finally answered.

"And... what is your relationship to Dean Winchester?" Osiris questioned.

"We work together." Jo said, confused.

"Isn't it true that you admire him?"

"Well, as a hunter... yeah. As a guy, he's kind of a jerk." She said without hesitation.

Dean scoffed.

"So you see him as a mentor of sorts?" Osiris asked.

"I wouldn't put it like that. Who the hell is this guy?" she demanded.

"Egyptian god. Do what he says." Sam said to her.

"How would you put it?" Osiris questioned.

"I don't know. I trust him. So if you're trying to say that he's a bad guy or something…"

"Is it hard?" he interrupted her.

"What?" Jo questioned.

"Working with him... considering your feelings. Especially since he denied you for so long and then picked up the first girl who fell in his lap and began hunting with him when he wouldn't let you hunt with him."

"No. What feelings?" Jo snapped.

"You would do quite a bit for him… follow him into any battle." Osiris said, ignoring her question.

"I know what you're getting at, and it's bullshit." Jo seethed.

"So Dean had nothing to do with your first case, the one that started it all."

"It wasn't like that." Jo said, shaking her head.

"No feelings. None at all. You would have chosen the same exact road. Ended up in that hardware store, holding the fuse. Killing you and almost killing your mother."

"Oh, you're a piece of work. You know that? Putting words in her mou…"

Dean cut off, choking as Osiris gestured to him. Elena glared between them, enraged at whatever he was doing to Dean.

"Keep him under control, counsel... or I'll remove his tongue."

Osiris gestured again and Dean took a deep breath.

"Your witness." He said to Sam.

Sam got up and stood in front of Jo.

"Jo." He nodded at her. "So, um... your dad... was in the life?"

"Yes, he was." Jo nodded.

"And your relationship with him?" he questioned.

"Good. I mean..."

"You idolized him." Sam suggested.

"Basically." She agreed.

"So why'd you start? To impress some loudmouth ass you just met... or cause you wanted to be like your dad?"

"Daddy issues. Definitely. Listen, Dean, I don't…"

Osiris flicked his hand and suddenly a piece of tape was over her mouth and she was sitting in another chair chained up.

"All right. You two can have a moment to strategize. And then I'll call my next witness." Osiris said, looking at Dean meaningfully.

Sam walked over at sat down again as they all shot Jo worried looks.

"All right. Who's the next witness? He looked at you like you'd know." He questioned Dean.

"I got no clue. This whole thing's like a friggin' episode of Pee-Wee's Playhouse." Dean snapped.

"Elena are you…"

"Next witness!" Osiris announced, interrupting Sam. "The prosecution calls... Sam Winchester to the stand."

He gestured to the chair and Sam walked to it slowly, sitting down.

"Sam... not exactly the life you expected, is it?"

"Details a little different." Sam shrugged.

"For a while there, you were gonna be a real lawyer. Marry Jess." Osiris commented.

"Yeah, that was a long time ago." Sam said with a furrowed brow.

"But were you or were you not happily out of the family racket until Dean showed back up in that gas guzzler?"

Sam opened his mouth to argue but the god cut him off.

"Ah-ah. The truth, now."

"It's complicated." He answered after a moment.

"That one act had quite a domino effect. Come back, your girl's dead."

"Well, that wasn't his fault." Sam argued.

"Sure, and neither is everything that came after… all the death and the blood and hanging on by a thread. None of that is on Dean, directly. But don't you think that your brother dragged you back into that catastrophic mess because he'd rather damn you with him than be alone?"

A long pause filled the room.

"No. One way or another, I'd have gotten pulled back in." Sam decided.

"You know that for certain?" Osiris questioned.

"Pretty sure." He nodded.

"Pretty sure?"

"I'm positive." Sam snapped.

"I believe you. Hey, if it was about convincing me, I would say..."

"What?" Sam interrupted.

"I don't decide anything, Sam. I don't decide Dean's guilt. I just weigh the guilt that's already there. This is solely about how Dean feels, way down deep. Them's the breaks."

"Wait. So, if Dean believes he's innocent, then he is?" Sam questioned, looking hopeful.

Dean, however, looked helpless.

"If. A big if. Why do I bring up the past? To see if he feels like dog food about it. People want to be judged. They really do. When your heart's heavy, let me tell you, real punishment's a mercy."

"I want to call Dean to the stand." Sam said quickly.

"Oh, you do, now? There is an order to this stuff, you know."

Sam glared at the god.

"Okay. I'll allow it."

Osiris snapped his fingers and Dean's chains fell away. Elena and Jo's remained perfectly in place.

"So, Dean. When you came and got me, did you know Jess would die? Or any of it?" Sam asked once he was seated.

"Course not." Dean said, shaking his head.

"Right. How could you? I mean, are you psychic?" Sam scoffed.

Dean didn't say anything, looking around.

"That's a question." Sam hissed.

"No. Uh, definitely not psychic." Dean said, shaking his head.

"Great. So why would you feel guilty about not predicting the future?" Sam shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess that doesn't make any sense. Actually, yeah, no, I don't." Dean said, trying his best.

He caught sight of Elena's face and saw that she looked like she did when she was trying to figure out a puzzle. He suddenly knew that they were providing a distraction.

"What about Jo? Did you actually mean to get her killed?" Sam questioned.

"Uh, no."

"Isn't it true that you don't feel guilty about her almost death? That you're just... sad she died? That it just... blows? But that you're relieved Elena was able to bring her back?"

"Actually... maybe, yeah." Dean nodded.

"Mm-mm-mm. I like your style, Sam. Very engaging." Osiris said approvingly.

"Dean. Does any of this feel like it's really... on you?" Sam questioned.

"Not really." Dean said.

"Then is your heart heavy with guilt or just plain heavy and none of this guy's business?" Sam said, pushing him the right direction.

"Uh, what you said… the second thing." Dean nodded.

"Then I rest my case." Sam said, stepping back.

"Very good... both of you." Osiris said approvingly. "All right. Because I really enjoyed that, I'm gonna be generous and ask… Dean, do you want me to call my last witness?"

Both Dean and Elena's eyes flashed up to the god with panic.

"Or have we had enough?"

Dean sighed heavily as Sam looked confused.

"What the hell's he talking about?" the younger brother demanded.

"Enough Ally McBealing. Just drop the hammer, will ya?" Dean snapped, his good mood gone.

"Wait, Dean, he's giving us more time!" Sam yelled, referring to whatever Elena was doing.

She was sitting there frozen, her eyes widened as she panicked over the guilt she knew Dean was feeling about Amy's death even though the blood was on her hands. Jo watched with wide eyes as she didn't have any control over the situation.

"It's not gonna make a difference, Sam!" Dean fired back.

"You need another moment? You done?" Osiris questioned.

None of them said a word and he looked triumphant before banging his staff on the ground three times and standing.

"The court's reached a verdict. I find you, Dean Winchester, guilty in your heart... and sentence you to…

"Enough!" a voice rang out.

They all turned to see Elena glaring at the god. He stared back at her with squinting eyes. Suddenly the chains turned red and creaked as they stretched before snapping off of her. She stood slowly, moving around the table.

"You do not have the power you once had, Osiris." Elena said, her fists clenched.

"Neither do you, Miss Gilbert. Do you miss those souls inside of you? Giving you power?"

"I would only wish for them back for the power to turn you to dust with a flick of my wrist." they all looked at her with surprise at the words. "As it is, I'll have to do a little bit more work."

"And what are you going to do to stand against me?" Osiris asked, amused.

Elena began spitting out words as she walked forward, words that made no sense to any of them except for the god, whose face fell into anger. Electric blue flashed in Elena's eyes as she spoke.

"Stop it." Osiris demanded, moving backwards but his retreat was impeded by his throne.

Elena didn't listen, the words flowing from her mouth effortlessly. Sam ran over to Jo, quickly pulling off the tape. Elena's hand flashed out without breaking her concentration from Osiris and the chains snapped off of the blonde, freeing her.

"You cannot do this! Stop!" he shouted, panic evident in his voice.

Elena stopped speaking the strange language and smirked at him.

"I can and I will." She said before a strange horn appeared in her hand.

Osiris looked at her with fear for a moment before she reared back and threw the weapon with all of her might. It whistled through the air and buried itself in the god's chest. He stood frozen for a moment as they all watched him. Then he let out a scream before his body bursted into flames and then fell to the ground in ashes. They all stared at the spot in shock before turning to Elena, who was somehow holding the horn again. Elena inhaled and exhaled deeply as she caught her breath and the last vestiges of the Egyptian incantation left her mind where she'd been summoning it up from the reading she'd done in the vault in the Vatican.

"Thanks, Cas." She murmured so softly no one else could hear her.

"Does someone want to tell me what the hell just happened? Not that that wasn't badass Elena." Jo assured her.

"Osiris put them on trial… almost found them guilty. If he had, you would have killed Dean." Sam said to her.

"Oh that's… great." Jo said, looking confused.

"What was that?" Dean asked, looking at Elena.

"I read a book on Egyptian gods in the weapons vault in Rome. I remembered the spell. His spirit is banished to the sands of Egypt never to be raised again." She informed them. "This is a ram's horn made into a horn, the instrument, it was in the vault as well. It's necessary to stab him to finish the job."

"Well that's handy." Jo commented, smiling at her. "Now we have to call my mom because we were in the middle of nowhere driving when I appeared here."

"Here you go." Sam handed her the phone as they turned to walk out of the barn.

Elena sighed and closed her eyes. Dean watched as the horn disappeared from her hand.

"It's back in the vault." She answered his unspoken question.

"That is a cool trick." He acknowledged.

"I learned a lot from the stuff Cas gave me." she said before turning to walk out behind Jo and Sam.

Dean sighed and followed.

* * *

Elena was in the shower and Sam was downstairs sending Warren off with a promise that everything was going to be normal now. They'd arrived at the motel to find him dead but Elena didn't waste any time before raising him back to life. They claimed that he hallucinated and passed out rather than dying from the wounds inflicted on him. Jo was sitting on the couch as Dean sat on the bed.

"You know I'd never have killed you. I would have found a way to fight it." Jo said.

"I know." Dean nodded without a doubt.

"I guess it was kind of his thing. Some kind of twisted eye for an eye." She said, staring at her hands.

"It's okay."

"No, it's not. You deserve better than things like Osiris trying to kill you all the time. You save people constantly. You're a hero and they treat you like a villain."

"You deserve better, Jo. I deserve what I get and more." Dean sighed.

"There's that guilt peeking out. Didn't you learn your lesson?" Jo reminded him.

Dean scoffed lightly.

"Dean, my life is good. Really." Jo assured him.

"He was right, you know… that dick judge, about me." Dean said, looking over at her.

"No, he wasn't." she said, shaking her head.

"You were a kid… when we met."

"Not true." She said, shaking her head.

"You and Sam. I just… you know, hunters are never kids. I never was. I didn't even stop to think about it." he sighed.

"It's not your fault. It wasn't on you." Jo assured him.

"No, but I didn't want to do it alone. Who does? No, the right thing would have been to send your ass back home to your mom." Dean said.

"Like to have seen you try." She scoffed. "He was right about one thing."

"What, your massive crush on me?"

She grinned, shaking her head.

"Shut up. Not anymore and you know it. You carry all kinds of crap you don't have to, Dean."

He looked at her with surprise.

"It kinda gets clearer when I'm not trying to make you into some ideal man to chase down." She shrugged.

"Well, in that case, you should be able to see that I am 90%... crap. I get rid of that, what then?" Dean said, shaking his head.

They both heard a noise and looked to see Elena standing in the bathroom doorway with wet hair and a sad look on her face. There was no telling how long she'd been standing there.

"Jo, can you give us a second?" she asked softly.

The blonde nodded.

"Of course! I'll go find Sam and make him buy me food." She said, hopping up and bounding out of the motel room.

Elena watched her go before walking over to Dean and sitting next to him on the bed.

"You're not 90% crap." She said, looking down at her hands.

"Yeah, I am." He said.

Elena shook her head and reached out, taking his hand. He watched as her finger ghosted over his skin, tracing circles and forming letters that he couldn't read.

"When I was… when I had the souls in me… it wasn't all bad. I was basically a full angel. I could see things… a lot of things. I saw you. Not just… the outside you. I saw everything. Your past and your hell. I saw it all. I also saw your soul. I have seen angels grace and heaven itself, but I never saw anything that shined as brightly as your soul. It was… beautiful." she admitted.

Dean stared at her with surprise.

"You are not 90% crap, Dean Winchester. Let me break it down for you. You are 30% hunter, rough and strong and devoted. You're 50% love and selflessness and sacrifice, you're 15% pure sexy…"

She cut off and grinned up at him, making him laugh slightly and shake his head.

"… you're 20% genius because believe it or not you are really smart, and you're 10% alcohol and sex and rock music."

Dean stared at her for a moment, squinting.

"That's 125%." He said.

Elena thought about it for a moment.

"What can I say? I never graduated high school." She shrugged before letting out a few giggles.

Dean let out deep chuckles along with her. Suddenly Elena's smile fell and she looked at him with sadness.

"I'm sorry, Dean. I never really… I didn't think about how you were affected by Cas. I never really thought that you'd lost a best friend. I was being selfish and I'm so sorry." She sighed.

"You're mourning him, Elena. It's understandable." Dean said, reaching out to put his hand on her cheek.

"It doesn't matter. I should have been here for you. I am now… whatever you need. I want to take some of this guilt off of your shoulders so let me help." She said, squeezing his hand.

Dean sighed and nodded, leaning in to press a soft kiss to her lips.

"I'm sorry for not trusting you. I was just afraid that you would disappear again."

Elena shook her head, putting her hands on his cheeks.

"I'm not going anywhere." She said, leaning in to kiss him once more.

* * *

"I got a question." Dean said as they sat on the Impala.

Elena and Jo were inside catching up on everything that happened recently.

"So where the hell did that come from, volunteering to defend us?"

"He was gonna kick me out." Sam shrugged before taking a sip of his beer.

"I don't know, man… in another life, you uh... you might have made a pretty decent scuzzbag." Dean acknowledged, drinking his own beer.

Sam let out a laugh as he shook his head.

"I'm 0 for 1, Dean." He reminded his brother.

"Ah, it's not your fault. You were pretty convincing." Dean said.

Sam remained silent for a moment as they both drank.

"So, who was he talking about?" Sam finally asked.

"Who?" Dean questioned.

"That whole final witness thing."

Something flashed across Dean's face before he schooled it back to nonchalance.

"No idea. Honestly, that could be just about anybody we know. By the way... I mean, I get why Judge Judy put me on trial … I got guilt coming out of my pores and Elena too. But... why'd he skip you?" Dean wondered, glancing over at Sam.

"I think I just don't... feel guilty anymore." Sam shrugged.

"Come on." Dean scoffed.

"Look, I don't know what to tell you, Dean. I mean, I've spent a lot of time feeling pretty crappy… like, my whole life." Sam said.

"What, you got a secret stash of happy pills?" he questioned.

"Hell." Sam said simply.

Dean looked at him with a quizzical look.

"Look, I'm not saying it's logical. I just... you know, I feel like I did a lot of stuff I should have felt bad for, and then I paid a lot of dues and came out the other side, you know?" Sam said.

"And that worked? I mean, you really feel like your… your slate's wiped?" Dean asked.

"No. Nothing ever gets wiped." Sam said, shaking his head.

"You know? Sometimes I see Lucifer when I friggin' brush my teeth, but, I don't know, I guess I just finally feel like... my past is my past, and I can move on with my life. You know, hopefully."

"Easier said than done." Dean sighed.

"Not arguing that." Sam nodded.

"Well, I don't know whether to be, uh, jealous or weirded out." Dean commented staring out at the field.

"You'll get used to it. I mean, I don't want to sound lame, but... I kind of feel good, Dean." Sam said.

Dean glanced back at him and rolled his eyes.

"Well, you are going to be a pleasure to ride with." He sighed.

The door opened and Elena peeked her head out.

"I hate to tell you boys but we gotta get this show on the road. Ellen is threatening to collect both of your testicles as trophies if you don't bring Jo to her now." Elena said, grinning.

"She will do it!" Jo yelled.

"I don't doubt it." the boys said at the same time, climbing into their respective seats.

* * *

**Please review! I hope that you liked it! I know it seems like everyone has made up and all is well but I promise it's not. The Amy thing is not over and something very big and important to the entire storyline of this part is happening in the next two chapters. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer I do not own TVD or Supernatural**

**A few things**

**1. I couldn't figure out how to do an appearance in Mystic Falls that wouldn't look weird but I promise there will be more Mystic Falls later in the story. There are some TVD characters in this chapter though, just for you.**

**2. Elena's outfits are on my profile.**

**3. In the next chapter, something goes down that sets up the plot for the entire rest of the story. Trust me, it will surprise you.**

**4. Enjoy!**

* * *

Elena sighed, sipping at the margarita.

"When are you going to tell him?"

She glanced up at Caroline and shrugged.

"I don't know. Dean keeps avoiding it and he doesn't want me to tell Sam because we're supposed to present a united front. But we're lying to Sam and, if I'd been more in my right mind, I probably would have second-guessed killing her. It wasn't right to kill her especially since Sam didn't want it. I regret it and I know that Dean does too. It'll just take a while for us to get to a place where we can sit down and tell him." she sighed.

"I think you should get him spectacularly drunk first." Rebekah announced, picking up her own mojito.

"Yeah cause he'll love them once he wakes up with a hangover knowing they killed his friend." Bonnie scoffed.

"It's better than doing it sober and having him freak out without any liquid courage in them." The vampire shrugged.

"That's horrible advice." Caroline informed her.

"Can you do better?" Rebekah challenged her.

"Don't bother, Care. I don't want to talk about this anymore. I just want to enjoy being here with you three." Elena said, tilting her head back slightly.

They all remained quiet for a moment.

"It is pretty amazing." Bonnie admitted, glancing around.

"We're in Havana, Bon. This is more than amazing." Caroline acknowledged.

They all looked around at the covered bar they were in on the beach.

"It's not a bad way to spend girls night, I will give you that much." Rebekah said, nodding at Elena appreciatively.

She smiled slightly.

"I just think it's nice to have a break from men sometimes." She sighed.

"Amen to that." all three of the other females said at once, lifting their alcoholic drinks in the air.

Elena laughed lightly, lifting hers as well.

"Thanks for agreeing to come out with me as a distraction. You are all the best friends a twenty-one year old hunter guardian half-angel could hope for." She said, clinking her glass with theirs.

"Anytime." They chorused.

* * *

Dean thrashed on the bed as his eyes squeezed shut, scenes flashing over his eyes of all the things that were haunting him. Cas disappearing into the water. Sam hallucinating Lucifer. Elena stabbing Amy as he looked on. Suddenly he felt something gripping his shoulders and he sat up, his eyes flying open as his forehead connected with something hard. A pained cry filled the room as the grip disappeared. He stared around with confusion before seeing Elena picking herself up where she fell off the bed. She was holding her nose as blood dripped out.

"Elena!"

He panicked, leaping out of the bed when he realized that he gave her the injury.

"I'm fine!" she groaned, turning away from him as he tried to get a look at her nose.

"I'm so sorry." He sighed, feeling incredible remorse as he touched her shoulders.

"Dean, I said I'm fine." She said, pushing away from him and walked to the bathroom.

That was when he noticed the dress she was wearing.

"Wait… where were you? You were gone when we went to bed." He acknowledged.

"I felt that I deserved a break after taking out that wendigo singlehandedly." Elena said, standing in front of the mirror as he stood in the doorway.

Dean winced as she effortlessly set the nose back into place.

"Hey! It's not our fault the fucking thing knocked us out."

Elena looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"I went to Cuba with Care, Bon, and Bekah." She answered, picking up a washcloth to run it under the water and dab the blood off of her face.

"Cuba? Seriously?"

Elena moved away from the counter and began removing her dress and shoes with a slight smile.

"Girls night." She said simply.

"Right, girls night." Dean nodded, turning to walk out of the bathroom as she turned on the shower.

"Hey…"

Elena peeked out of the bathroom with a raised eyebrow and a sly smirk.

"Sam is gone running… and you smell like beer. Shower?" she asked, biting her lower lip and disappearing into the bathroom once more.

Her bra flew out, a white lacy article of clothing, and he was suddenly chasing her into the bathroom. Her peals of laughter filled the air as the door slammed shut.

* * *

Dean sighed with a satisfied grin as he sat at the table and opened the laptop. He picked up the bottle of whiskey, disappointed when he found that it was empty. He glanced around, his eyes zeroing in on another bottle that was sticking out of his bag, almost empty but there was still a bit of amber liquid left. He moved to stand up but a hand shot out and grabbed the glass from his hand. Elena took it away and he looked up at her with guilty eyes.

"It's nine in the morning." She said softly, taking it away and placing a light kiss to his lips.

He watched as she walked off, placing the glass on the bedside table before disappearing into the bathroom to do her hair. Dean didn't pursue it, knowing that it would likely cause a fight if she saw him sneaking alcohol anyways. He focused on the computer and began looking for their next case.

"Hey I might have found something!" he called.

"Let me guess, you typed in freaky shit." Elena replied, sounding amused.

Dean hesitated.

"No?" he said.

He heard her laughing but was distracted by Sam running by the window. He watched as Sam walked in the door breathing heavily and wrapping up his headphones.

"Somebody better be chasing you." he grumbled, sinking back down into his chair and glancing at the computer.

"It's good for you." Sam breathed as he bent over at the waist.

"No. No, it's not good for you. Look at you. You're, you're a mess, and you stink. Well, while you were out being Lance Armstrong..." Dean pointed out as his brother pulled a sports drink out of the fridge.

"That would be biking." He replied.

"... I was working." Dean finished, glaring at him. "You ever heard of a town called Prosperity, Indiana?"

"Has anybody?" Elena said, walking out of the bathroom and shooting a smile at Sam as she walked to Dean and turned for him to zip up her dress.

"Two of their fine citizens died over the past two weeks." He explained as he did so, pressing a kiss to her neck once he finished.

Sam looked at them fondly as Elena smiled and reached back, squeezing Dean's hand before she moved back into the bathroom once again to do her make-up.

"Uh, this one chick, she, uh, roasted underneath one of those beehive hair dryers at the hair salon..."

"That's… gross!" Elena called.

"...and this other guy boiled in a hot tub." He finished.

"You don't see a lot of that." Sam commented as he stretched out.

"No, you don't." Dean said, rolling his eyes at Sam's healthy living.

"It's worth checking out." Sam huffed out.

"Yeah." He said, squinting at him before staring back longingly at the bottle of whiskey.

"You know, one more thing. What's going on with you?" Sam questioned, staring at Dean suspiciously.

Something clattered in the bathroom, indicating that Elena dropped something as Dean sighed heavily.

"We have had this conversation, Sam." he said grumpily.

"No, we haven't. See, to do that, you'd have to, uh, sort of... speak."

"Okay, let's see if you can get this straight. See you're… you're new Sam, right, Lance Armstrong."

"Biking." Sam corrected him again.

"And, uh… and I'm still me, okay?" Dean continued, ignoring him. "All right, so… so, you might see things different now, uh… call it a runner's high or some crap… but that doesn't mean that something's going on with me, okay?" he couldn't help but snap at his brother and Elena came out of the bathroom, giving him a warning glance.

"Yeah, okay." Sam said, turning to walk into the bathroom once Elena nodded at him that she was done.

"No, don't say, yeah, okay, like, yeah, okay." Dean said, sounding tired.

"Yeah, okay." Sam repeated in the same manner, disappearing into the bathroom and shutting the door.

Dean let his head drop and Elena walked to him, encircling her arms around his neck.

"I love you." she murmured in his ear, knowing there was nothing else she could say to make it better.

"I love you too." Dean sighed, his hands moving upwards to grip at her arms.

* * *

"I'm very sorry. I-I know this is a tough time to have to talk about all this." Sam said in a soothing voice as he talked to the woman as they stood outside the library where she worked.

"I've already been through it so many times with the lawyers, the police, the insurance guys." Olivia Goodson , the sister of the hair-dryer victim said, frustrated.

"Right. I know. I know. We just… we have to conduct our own separate investigation. I'm sorry. I know it's tough. Can I ask you… did your sister have any enemies?" Sam questioned.

"Why do you ask that? You think her death wasn't accidental?" Wendy's sister asked, confused.

"No. No, no, no." Sam said, shaking his head. "We just have to consider every possibility. Is there anyone who might have wanted to harm her?"

"You don't live here, so you don't know. Everyone... loved Wendy. She volunteered at the church. She ran a group for kids. I was the big sister, and I looked up to her." the woman said emotionally.

"What about this man who died… Carl Dunlap? Did she know him?" Sam asked.

"I don't think so." she answered, shaking her head.

"Well, Wendy was in real estate, right? Carl was an architect. Maybe they had some business dealings?" Sam suggested.

"If they had worked together, I would've heard the name." Olivia said confidently.

Sam nodded as he wrote what she was saying.

"Agent Sambora… if someone did this to my sister, find out who." Olivia pleaded.

* * *

"And nobody was back here but Wendy." Dean confirmed.

"No. But I was only gone for a minute." The male hairstylist said, looking nervous.

"You can't even crank these things past a certain temperature… am I wrong?" Dean said, pointing at the faulty hair-dryer.

"If it started to blow a fuse or something, it would have shut down." Chris nodded.

"Oh. Basically, you're saying that this couldn't have happened." he said, nodding.

"Basically, I'm saying it couldn't have happened." The man agreed.

Dean moved to the wall, his hands digging through the crevices.

"The insurance adjusters already did that." Chris informed him.

"Thanks for the heads-up." Dean grumbled back.

Chris decided that the stress of watching him wasn't worth it and turned away to leave him alone. Dean found an object just as he did, straightening out to study it. It was a coin with strange scratchings on it. As he walked out of the shop, he dialed Sam's number as Elena met him on the street. Instead of posing as FBI with them, she decided to remain a civilian in case she had to act like it later, something she did every once in a while since she could pull it off better than them.

"Wait. What kind of a coin?" Sam asked as they walked down the street.

"It's not American. I don't know where it's from. It was wedged back behind one of those machines. Somebody could have dropped it. Of course, they don't have pockets in those robe thingies that they make you wear." Dean explained as Elena studied the coin.

"I didn't realize you were such a spa expert." Sam said, laughing.

Dean paused at a bench and Elena stopped as well, noticing that the back of the bench was an advertisement for Wendy Goodson Real Estate. They both noticed that the plants around it were dead or dying.

"Shut up. I observe with my eyes." Dean snapped at his brother.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever you say." They could practically hear Sam's eyeroll. "So, you thinking it must be some kind of hex talisman?"

"Uh, maybe." Dean said, shrugging even though Sam couldn't see.

"All right. Pick me up." Sam said.

"Why don't you just run home, Lance?" Dean teased.

"Dean…" the other man sighed.

"Yeah, we'll be there in a bit." Dean said, his eyes skirting over a liquor store before he followed Elena to the Impala.

* * *

Sam and Elena sat in the motel room waiting on Dean to bring them pizza and beer. Elena was sitting on the bed reading over Wendy Goodson's file while Sam looked at Carl Dunlap's file.

"Hey Lena."

Her blood ran cold as she knew what Sam was about to say.

"Yeah?" she said, glancing up at him.

"Is Dean…"

"He's just stressed, Sam." Elena sighed. "With what happened with Cas and me, then you with the hallucinations plus everything that we don't know about the Leviathan. It didn't help that I disappeared for almost a month but I can't really take that back now. He's just dealing with a lot and he's having a hard time."

"I know." Sam agreed, nodding solemnly. "I'm just worried, you know? About the drinking and the nightmares."

"So am I. But it'll be okay… I hope." she said, turning back to the papers.

They were interrupted from saying anymore when Dean walked in without beer and pizza.

"There's been more freaky shit." He announced, pulling on his suit jacket.

Sam stood and did the same.

"I'll just stay here and look over these files some more." Elena offered, remaining on the bed.

They both nodded at her and Dean bent down to kiss her forehead before walking out with Sam.

* * *

"So, what do we know about the vic?" Dean asked as he stood by the truck with the policeman.

Sam went to the outhouse to look over the body.

"Dewey Stevens… owner, Dewey Stevens Construction, biggest outfit in town. Rotarian, Methodist, tenor, blue-ribbon pecan pie champ, asthmatic." The man listed off.

Dean stared at him questioningly.

"We're a close-knit community." He sighed.

"So, this, um, pillar of the community… he was taking a leak before he, uh, sprung a few?" Dean asked, walking towards the portable bathroom as Sam wandered inside the building to look for any foul play in there.

"The crew had gone for the day. Site was shut down."

Dean nodded, leaning down to uncover the body. He winced at the multiple holes in his body from the nail gun that killed Dewey Stevens.

"Anything unusual besides the nails in the eyes?"

"Well, we're still trying to figure out where they plugged in the nail gun, seeing as there's no generator on the truck." The officer said, gesturing to the weapon.

"Well, when you figure that out, let me know." Dean nodded at him before turning back to the outhouse again.

He squatted down, squinting around as he looked. He immediately spotted something glinting in the sunlight and picked it up to see that it was a coin the same as the one in the hair salon. Dean walked into the portable construction building where Sam was using the deceased man's laptop.

"So, another victim everybody likes." Dean said.

"Not everybody." Sam corrected him.

"Another physically impossible death. You got any ideas?"

"Cirque du Soleil?" Sam shrugged.

"Oh, I, uh, found another one of these, just like at the, uh, the hair-dryer/brain-roast." Dean set the coin on the desk and Sam picked it up, looking over it.

"And I found a connection with all the vics. Um, these e-mail logs show Wendy, the real-estate chick, uh, Carl, the architect, and this Dewey guy were all working on a shopping center project together." He said, gesturing to the emails.

"Why didn't we know about that?" Dean questioned, squinting at the screen.

"Well, it all fell apart for some reason. I mean, there are these e-mails back and forth, pretty hot and heavy, and suddenly they just stopped." Sam informed him.

"So, everybody working on this project has died?" Dean said.

"Well, not yet. Um, they were working with a developer, a guy named Don Stark."

"Don Stark? Why do I know that name?" Dean wondered.

* * *

They both looked at the bust of a man outside of a large building with a plaque reading, **Don Stark: Founder of the Prosperity Charity Foundation**.

"Man, this Stark guy is really plugged in, huh?" Sam commented, glancing over the bust.

"So, all the players in this… this shopping-center project have either fried, boiled, or kebabbed. He could be next." Dean suggested, pulling out a flask and unscrewing the lid.

Sam glared at him once he noticed.

"Really? From a freaking flask? What are you, bad Santa?"

Dean stared back at him unapologetically.

"On the job?" Sam demanded.

"We're always on the job." Dean shrugged.

Sam rolled his eyes as his phone rang. Dean took a long swig once he answered it.

"Hey Lena." He said, annoyance at his brother clear in his voice.

"Bobby e-mailed back. I sent him a few pics of those coins Dean found. He says the writing is Romanian Cyrillic, used only in the mid-15th to the 19th century. Apparently, it's an antique Wallachian ducat." She read off on the speakerphone.

"So, we're looking for an old Romanian?" Dean questioned, sounding skeptical.

"You know, is it just me, or is this really weird?" Sam sighed, glancing around at the dead plants at the base of Don Stark's bust.

"Huh. I've seen this once before, where t-the plants are all dead in one spot." Dean commented, squinting at them.

"Where?" Sam questioned.

"That bus bench with Wendy Goodson's picture on it." Elena offered.

Dean nodded, remembering now.

"I mean, I'm no expert, but I don't think plants are supposed to act like this." he said.

* * *

Elena glanced around once they hung up, wondering if there was anything she could do to help. She quickly typed in Don Stark's name in the search bar of Sam's computer and found multiple mentions of an art gallery under the name Margaret Stark. A smile formed on her face as she pushed off of the bed to get ready. Twenty minutes later, she was approaching the building of the art gallery. She walked in, pulling out a pen and a pad of paper as she did so. She immediately caught sight of Margaret Stark directing some men holding a large table. Once they were finished, she marched right up to the woman.

"Margaret Stark?" she said, trying to sound hopeful.

The woman turned her eyes on Elena and narrowed them.

"Who's asking?" she questioned suspiciously.

"My name is Rosalyn Marsh, I belong to the Indianapolis Recorder and I've been sent to ask if I can do a feature on your art gallery here." Elena said with a wide smile, trying to sound as innocent as she could.

"Excuse me…"

Elena turned to see a harsh looking woman with long brown hair walking up to them with an angered expression.

"Before you speak to Mrs. Stark you need to…"

"It's all right, Sue." Margaret intervened, brushing off the other woman as she stepped forward. "Miss Marsh here wants to do a feature on the art gallery. Let me show you around, you'll love it. Call me Maggie, by the way."

She hooked her elbow through Elena's as Sue's eyes flashed murderously at her.

"Here's my card, if you want to confirm it with my boss." Elena said flippantly, handing her a business card with Bobby's number on it.

Maggie pulled her away, pointing out the different art as Elena paid close attention, pleased that her ruse was already paying off.

* * *

"If the bureau's involved, I assume you think all three were murdered." Don Stark said as he stood in his office at his house with Sam and Dean.

"It's looking that way, yes." Dean nodded.

"Now, Mr. Stark, you had a relationship with all three victims, correct?" Sam confirmed.

"Oh, I knew them in business circles, I guess, sure." He shrugged, leaning back against his desk.

"And you were all involved in a, uh, a-a shopping-center project. Why'd that fall through?" Dean said.

"Uh, t-these things happen." Don said.

A young blonde woman appeared at the door with dry cleaning hung over her shoulder.

"Oh. Jenny. These gentlemen are from the FBI. Jenny Klein, my assistant." Don introduced them quickly.

"Hi, there. Okay, Don, I'm off to the cleaner's, and then I'm gonna stop at Beaman, Beaman, and Beaman for the revised contracts." Jenny said with a big grin.

"Hurry on back. You know how things fall apart without you." Don said with a smile at her.

She let out a delighted laugh, shaking her head.

"Oh, I baked you some cupcakes… coconut." Jenny said.

"Coconut… you're too good to me, Jenny." Don said, shaking his head.

"I'll see you soon." She said happily, turning to walk off.

Sam and Dean stared at Don, both of their faces betraying their thoughts.

"She bakes cupcakes." Don shrugged, looking unapologetic.

"Yummy." Dean commented.

"You know, could you point me to the restroom? I had a little bit too much java." Sam cut in, changing the subject.

"Yeah, around the corner, down the hall." Don instructed.

"Thanks." Sam said, hurrying out of the room.

"So, uh, usually in cases like these…" Dean began as Sam climbed the staircase instead.

"Are there cases like these?" Don interrupted.

"Oh, you'd be surprised. Uh, we start out with the basics." Dean informed him. "You have any business rivals?"

"Sure, tons. You know, real estate's brutal." The man said, nodding.

"Well, that was easy." Dean commented, writing it down.

"On the other hand, I've demonstrated my love for this town, and I think it's safe to say I'm respected for what I've done here."

Sam walked into a bedroom and looked around before going into the walk-in closet. One side was filled with suits and the other was completely empty except for a broken high-heeled shoe and a five-star pendent on a chain. That was when he saw the shoebox. He pulled it down and opened it to see various witchcraft materials.

"Yeah, one of my real treasures." Don said as he and Dean looked over his Prosperity Citizen of the Year award. Dean glanced at a framed picture of an office tower and read the inscription on it.

"To Don… take no prisoners. D. Trump. The Trumpster! Wow." He said, turning to gape at Don.

"Like I said, success breeds fierce competition..." Don nodded, looking proud as Sam walked back in. "... but in the end, everyone here respects and admires me."

"Including your wife?" Sam questioned.

Both Dean and Don turned to look at him.

"Sorry. It's just, we heard the two of you were splitting up, right?"

"Yeah, that's, uh… that's what we heard." Dean confirmed, walking around to stand beside Sam again.

"Yeah, Maggie and I are going through a tough time. It's a separation… temporary. Sometimes, you know, you grow apart. It's no one's fault." Don nodded.

"And how would you describe the, uh… the issues between you and your wife?" Dean asked.

"It's just one of those marital misunderstandings, you know."

"No, I'm sorry. I don't." Sam replied, digging for more information.

"It's one of those vague, hard-to-define passages." Don sighed.

"She caught you cheating, huh? I couldn't help but notice, uh, things were kind of cordial between you and your assistant. Pretty good with the ladies there, Mr. Stark? It's a blessing and a curse, isn't it?" Dean said, smirking.

"Guys, I'm a people person, and I admire dynamic, confident women." Don said, looking like he was caught between a rock and a hard place.

"Admire?" Sam questioned skeptically.

"Okay, look… it's true I had a recent... little thing with a business associate, but that's all it was." Don admitted.

"A thing?" Dean said.

"Yeah." He nodded.

"Like a… like a shoe or a golf club." Sam said.

"Right. Like a waffle iron." Dean continued.

"Yeah." Sam agreed.

"Yeah." Dean shook his head. "No, see, Don, uh, wives generally think of an affair as something more than a thing."

"Yes, and when Maggie found out about it, she needed some time off, temporarily." Don said.

"Hmm. Now, if we were to guess that the, uh, uh, business associate was Wendy Goodson, would we win the weekend trip to Maui?" Dean wondered.

Don's shoulders slumped slightly.

"No, her death had nothing to do with the affair. It was over long before her accident." He said.

"If it was an accident." Dean corrected him.

"You're not implying that Maggie was behind this." Don said, furrowing his brow.

"No, we're not implying anything. We're just saying... you should be careful. And take her to dinner and apologize." Sam suggested.

"Yeah, and, uh, grovel. Wouldn't hurt." Dean continued.

* * *

"Found a bunch of hex junk in their stuff… clearly her thing. And the empty closet didn't seem like she was coming back anytime soon." Sam explained, noticing more dead plants near the front door of the house.

"So, Don admires Wendy, biblically, Wendy dies weird, and the scorned wife is into the dark stuff." Dean said.

"While Don's just in the dark." Sam agreed as they walked to the Impala.

"Hmm. It's kind of like Bewitched. You know, Don's Darrin, doesn't even know it. A lot of laughs until, uh, you cheat on your wife." Dean said, smirking.

"A Bewitched reference. Really?" Sam said, shaking his head.

"Dude, Nicole Kidman was in the remake. Redhead. Hello!" Dean shrugged.

"Look at all those dead plants." Sam said, nodding back at the house.

"Huh. It's kind of like the real-estate lady's place and Don's statue thing."

"You know, if she's strong enough, just being pissed off is enough to send some pretty bad vibes their way." Sam said.

Dean pulled out his phone and dialed a number.

"Literally kill off everything around her just by pms-ing at it. Eeh. That's not creepy at all." He said as it rang. "Bobby, hey, it's Dean. Listen…"

"Dean who?" the grumpy voice said on the other end.

"Winchester." He answered, frowning.

"Yeah I knew who you were I was just making sure you did after you took that wallop from the wendigo. Elena told me all about it, you two flailing through the air screaming like a couple of grade school girls." Bobby said, amusement clear in his voice.

"Yeah, very funny." Dean snapped back. "So, we need our kind of Terminix."

"For what?" the other hunter asked.

"A witch. We're headed over to her place to get you some more specifics, so if you could just, uh…"

"I'm on it." Bobby interrupted him.

"Thanks Bobby." He said before hanging up. "He's on it."

* * *

Sam remained outside the leased house that belonged to Maggie Stark as Dean snuck in to see what he could find. He went upstairs, bypassing the moving boxes, and into a bedroom. In the closet, he immediately discovered an altar with witchcraft materials and photos of Carl Dunlap, Dewey Stevens, and Wendy Goodson. They were all marked with a symbol in blood. Separate from all of their pictures was an unmarked picture of Jenny Klein with a library card that had her name on it as well. Dean sighed, taking down the picture and picking up the card.

"Don, keep it in your pants, man." he grumbled.

* * *

"Outside, Sam panicked when he saw a sportscar pulling into the driveway. He scrambled to call Dean but the line was busy.

"Dammit." He cursed, throwing the trunk closed and running towards the driveway to intercept the woman.

"Mrs. Stark."

Maggie Stark turned as she climbed out of the car. He held up a badge for her to see.

"Could I have a moment?"

"Of course. Um, would you mind coming back in, say, an hour? It's just a really bad time right now." She said.

"It's very important that I talk to you." he said.

Just then the other door opened and he watched with surprise as Elena stepped out. Maggie nodded and turned to look at her, smiling apologetically.

"Of course, and I'm happy to. But as you can see I'm in the middle of something, so please come back." she said desperately.

"My name is Rosalyn Marsh, I'm with the Indianapolis Recorderd doing a feature on Maggie here. I'll just need her for an hour and then you can have her." She said, stepping forward to shake his hand, communicating with him silently.

Sam nodded and his eyes flashed to the house in a gesture he hoped she would understand.

"Thank you!" Maggie said, turning to walk to the door with Elena following her.

Sam turned to walk back to the Impala, honking the horn three times so that Dean would know something was up.

* * *

Elena glanced around the house as they walked in.

"I'm so sorry for the mess. I just have so much going on with the art gallery and the divorce." Maggie sighed apologetically.

"It's fine, I don't mind at all." Elena waved off.

"Oh I shouldn't have said that. Please don't put anything about my divorce in your article." The woman said with wide eyes.

"I wouldn't dream of it. It's about the art, not your personal life." Elena assured her.

"Great." Maggie breathed. "I'm just going to run upstairs and freshen up. I'll be right back."

"I'll be waiting." Elena said with a grin.

Maggie turned to walk off and Elena glanced around with her heart pounding, wondering where the hell Dean was. Suddenly she heard a noise behind her and turned to see Dean peeking around the corner looking panicked. Elena hurried to him, holding her hand out to send him out to the Impala but he stopped her.

"There's another victim about to be killed by Maggie. Don Stark's assistant, Jenny Klein." He hissed.

"Then go save her." Elena shot back in a whispered voice, pressing her hand to his arm and concentrating on sending him out of the house.

Dean appeared beside Sam, causing him to jump out of surprise.

"Spoiler alert." He handed Sam the picture and the library card. "Jenny Klein's next. Swiped her photo off a hex deck, but Maggie's gonna notice it's gone eventually. Elena might be able to distract her but we got to get over to Jenny's."

They both jumped into the Impala and hauled away. In the house, Maggie entered her closet and immediately narrowed her eyes at the altar when she noticed the missing items.

* * *

Jenny danced around her kitchen as she made cupcakes, grinning while she frosted them perfectly. Once they were all done, she picked one up and inspected it, making sure that it was good enough. Then she began to unwrap it.

* * *

Back at Maggie Stark's house, the witch was kneeling in her closet

"Puterea magiei negre te condamna la suferinta si moarte." She chanted.

"Maggie! I'm so sorry I've been called away to a conference call!" Elena called up the stairs. "I'll see you at the art gallery opening, all right?"

"That's fine!" Maggie called back before going back to her spell.

* * *

Jenny leaned forward to take a bit of her cupcake, smiling happily when the sweet taste filled her mouth. Then she noticed that something was wrong with the taste as she began choking on something in her throat. Her eyes flew open and stared in shock at her cupcake. A beating, bleeding heart was inside of her cupcake. She dropped the cupcake and ran to the sink, spitting out the blood. More forced its way up her throat, spilling out into the sink. Suddenly someone appeared beside her, yanking her away from the sink as the door slammed open and Dean and Sam ran in. Dean bolted over to where Elena was supporting Jenny and she passed her over.

"Find the coin, now!" he ordered as he helped her sit on the floor.

Elena and Sam began searching through the cupboards, Elena feeling a pull from a powerful object that must have been the coin.

"Come on!" Dean yelled.

Elena felt her hand contact something cool and yanked it out of the cupboard, turning to Sam. He pulled out a gun as she set it on the counter and aimed at it. They all ducked away, shielding themselves and Jenny as he shot the coin into smithereens. Silence, except for Jenny's sobs, filled the room as they all caught their breaths and let relief fill them. A few minutes later, Elena had Jenny reclining on the sofa as Sam and Dean watched from the kitchen.

"There were tiny beating hearts in my cupcakes." Jenny whimpered as Elena dabbed at her forehead with a cool towel.

"There were hearts in my cupcakes, hearts in my cupcakes!" she quickly became hysterical, knocking Elena's arm aside as she sat up. "That's never happened before! Hearts in my cupcakes!"

"Should I slug her?" Dean muttered to Sam.

"Give it a second." Sam said as Elena coaxed her back to laying down.

"Oh, my God. What just happened?" Jenny asked, looking at Elena with wide eyes.

"You were hexed." Elena said softly, dabbing at her face once again.

"Hexed?" Jenny said, wide-eyed. "Who are you people? What the hell do I do?"

"What you do is you go in there and you pack a bag, you get in your car, and you go." Dean said, walking forward to stand behind the couch.

"Go where?" Jenny questioned helplessly.

"It doesn't matter. Look, five hundred or six hundred miles ought to do it. You got someone real powerful real pissed, and they're trying to get rid of you now. In line with that, you might want to cool things with Don Stark." Sam said, moving forward as well.

"Don Stark? What are you talking about?" the blonde asked, confused.

"You and Don. You know." Dean said, insinuating something with his voice.

Both Elena and Jenny frowned at him.

""You know? There's no you know." Jenny snapped, glaring at him.

"No?" Sam said, confused now.

"Don Stark is my boss. That's it. He's married, for God sakes." Jenny said with disgust.

'Yeah, well..." Dean shrugged.

"Me and Don Stark. Ew!" Jenny shuddered, grimacing.

* * *

"What are you doing? Bunch these tables more in the middle. Give me a more air between paintings." Maggie commanded the workers

"Hey. Maggie, can you sign for the flowers? I've checked them. They're fine." Sue said, handing her a clipboard.

"Thank you, Sue. What would I do without you?" Maggie sighed, signing it quickly.

"Oh, please, I like helping. What are best friends for?" Sue shrugged, grinning.

"It's just been so tough to focus with Don, the whole mess."

"It's like he put a knife right in your heart, isn't it?" Sue said, looking sympathetic.

"Yes." Maggie nodded.

"Was I wrong to tell you about him and Wendy?" her friend asked, looking devious behind her innocent expression.

"No. No. You think I'd want you to stand by and watch him make a fool of me? I love you for what you did." Maggie assured her.

"I love you, too." Sue said, smiling.

Maggie's attention was taken away when Elena walked into the gallery.

"Rosalyn!" she hurried up to her.

"Oh hey Maggie. I am so sorry I had to run out earlier. My boss wanted to discuss a previous story I did and I can't really say no to the bastard." Elena said, rolling her eyes.

"I understand completely. Do you want to walk and talk with my while I finish organizing?" Maggie asked.

"Of course." Elena nodded, faking a smile.

She wanted to stay with Sam and Dean but they insisted that she keep an eye on Maggie just in case.

"Where's my wife?" they heard as they turned to walk away.

Maggie froze and turned back, her eyes narrowing.

"You mean the one who's divorcing you?" Sue shot back.

"Sue, I know you can hardly wait until I'm out of the picture..." Don sighed. "... and I know it's been a thrill whispering lies into Maggie's ear…"

"Oh, but they weren't lies, were they, Don?" Sue said, grinning like it was Christmas.

"I made one mistake… one." Don hissed at her, holding up one finger.

"I sincerely doubt that."

"This is between Maggie and me. It has nothing to do with you." the man snapped at her.

Maggie glanced back at Elena apologetically before stepping forward.

"What do you want, Don?" she asked.

"I'd like to speak with you." he answered.

Maggie nodded to Sue who gave Don a glare before walking away.

"Make it quick." She sighed.

"Okay. You know what, Maggie? I think I've been patient. And you've had your fun. It was very creative, the thing with Wendy, but, you know, enough is enough." Don snapped, stepping closer to her.

They were speaking in hushed tones but Elena could hear them perfectly as she stood out of the way looking innocent.

"No, Don, enough is not enough, not even close." Maggie fired back.

"What do you want, my oysters on a tray?" Don demanded.

"Well, now that you mention it…" Maggie said with a smirk.

"The fact is, none of this was my fault! Maybe if you'd been around a little more. But between the art and the charity and that evil bitch Sue, I was edged right out of your life." Don accused her.

"Oh, boo-hoo, Mr. Big Shot, Mr. I got to put my name on every public works in town." Maggie said, putting her hands on her hips.

Don made a protesting noise but she cut him off.

"There was three of us in this marriage… me, you, and your ego. That was the problem, Don. So, excuse me. I have a charity event to arrange." Maggie turned to walk off but he stopped her.

"Two FBI agents came by, asking questions."

Maggie turned around slowly.

"Hunters, sweetheart… that's what they are." Elena's head shot up and she looked over at them with wide-eyes, her panicked expression catching Don's interest. "Oh, I can see you're terribly concerned for my safety, but don't worry… I'll take care of it."

"Maggie, this stops. You hear me? As of now." Don said, giving Elena one last suspicious look before turning to walk away.

"You're so cute when you try to tell me what to do." Maggie said, grinning.

She turned to walk back to Elena, noticing her pale face.

"What's wrong?" she asked, afraid that she heard what they said.

"I did, hear what you said. I don't care but… did you say hunters?" Elena asked, doing her best to sound worried.

"Yes." Maggie said, looking suspicious.

"Oh God." Elena said weakly, doing her best acting as she stumbled back into a wall.

Maggie reached out to steady her.

"What is it?"

"I think they're after me. I didn't mean to but… I must have led them here."

"They're hunting you?" Maggie asked, shocked.

Elena nodded slowly.

"Why?"

She swallowed, glancing around before looking back at Maggie.

"I have to show you something."

She put her pen into her bag, knowing she had to get a way for Maggie to trust her. She turned her hand over and concentrated on it until it lifted into the air on its own accord with help from Elena's mind. Maggie watched with wonder as it hovered for a few moments before dropping back in her hand.

"You're a witch?" the woman asked, her eyes wide as she looked up at Elena.

She shrugged, wondering how she would take the new information. Suddenly her lips curved into a devious smile.

"My turn." Maggie grabbed Elena's arm and pulled her up the stairs.

Elena followed her to a window and they were looking out at the front of the building, watching as Don walked to his car. Maggie's eyes shifted to the bust of her husband and the ground rumbled around it, catching several people's eyes, including Don's. Suddenly it cracked and fell apart, the face crashing to the ground into dust and chunks of rock. Elena stared with wide eyes as Don turned to glare at them through the window.

Dean and Sam saw this as they pulled up to the building in the Impala.

"Now she's just getting nasty. Killing the girlfriend is one thing, but his commemorative bust? That's got to hurt." Dean commented, turning to look at Sam.

"She'll take the whole town out, Dean. She don't care who gets in the way." Sam sighed.

Dean's phone rang as they pulled off and he answered it.

"Hey, Bobby. What do you got?"

* * *

Dean and Elena were sitting in the motel room when Sam came in. Elena was pulling on her shoes as Dean ate.

"Dude. Elena got me pie." Dean informed his brother happily.

Sam rolled his eyes as he set a plastic bag on the table.

"Ugh. That is…" Dean said, grimacing.

"Chicken feet, just like the recipe calls for. Butcher's fridge is down." Sam answered as Dean tilted his body away from the bag and Elena's face formed a disgusted look at the smell.

"I can smell that." the other two said at once.

"Uh, says the power's been wonky and that he's lost so much product, he probably won't make rent. Ditto every shop on the block… nothing but burst pipes and blackouts." Sam explained once he sat down on the bed next to Elena. "He says it's like all of a sudden, the town ran out of luck."

"So, coincidence, right?" Dean asked, picking up the bag of chicken feet and walking over to Sam and Elena.

"Uh... yeah. We're past the point of dead flowers." Sam nodded.

"What can I say? I guess the witch is pissed. All right, let's, uh… we better get a move on here. Why don't you just..."

He held the bag out to Sam as Elena vaulted off of the bed to get away from it.

"C-can you take the feet?"

Sam sighed, holding out a bowl so that Dean could drop the bag into it.

"Ugh." They all groaned as the smell lingered in the air.

* * *

"This looks absolutely amazing, Maggie." Elena gushed as she looked around at the art gallery.

"Doesn't it?"

They both turned to see Sue walking up with three drinks. Elena took one and Maggie the other.

"To the gallery, and the feature on Maggie." Sue said with a grin, holding her drink up.

Elena and Maggie nodded, toasting as well. Maggie turned to point something out to Elena as Sue pulled out her olive skewer casually. Her scream filled the air as she saw an olive and an eyeball side-by-side on the skewer. Elena and Maggie stared at it with wide eyes as Sue dropped the drink and the skewer.

"That is disgusting!" she cried.

Elena's eyes went to Maggie's face as she looked around the room. That was when they both noticed the paintings.

"No." Maggie growled out.

The paint on the artwork was running down the canvas, ruining the art.

"No. Not my paintings!" she screamed, stomping her foot.

"Maggie? What is going on?" Sue asked, walking over to her and Elena with a look of horror on her face.

"He did this. How could he? He knew what this meant to me." Maggie ranted, turning to face them.

"Do you mean Don? Don rigged all this?" Sue demanded.

"Yes!" Maggie screeched.

Elena knew that wasn't true and now she knew that Don was powerful as well.

"But how?" Sue questioned, confused.

"Just trust me. He wants to hurt me." Maggie said, her fingers trembling with anger as she turned around to look at the ruined art.

"I told you… he's a dick. But we'll get through this because you have people who love you, and he can't take that away from you." Sue assured her.

Elena heard a clink and turned too late, watching with wide eyes as a silver platter sailed through the air and straight through Sue's neck, decapitating her. Blood splattered her and Maggie as Sue's body fell to the ground and her head rolled away.

"Fine, Donald. It's war." Maggie spat out before turning to stomp off.

Elena stood there, frozen and unsure of what to do now that they were dealing with two witches warring with each other.

* * *

"What the hell?" Dean demanded as they walked into building.

Elena moved away from the officer she gave her innocent statement to and pulled them away from the covered body.

"Don Stark did this." She hissed, yanking them towards the door as quickly as she could.

"So, the mister's a witch, himself. That means we got not just one pissed-off witch. We've got two. It's full-on "War of the Roses." Dean commented as they hurried towards the Impala.

"Bewitched just got a lot less funny." Sam sighed.

"It's like when they switched Darrins." Dean said, shaking his head.

Sam and Elena gave him a strange look but he shrugged it off. Elena felt something prickling the back of her neck, like someone was watching them. She paused at the Impala and glanced around. Across the street, a man sat in a parked vehicle. His eyes stared straight into hers, almost burning her with his gaze. She stared back for a momet, getting a horrible feeling from him before Dean reminded her that they were dealing with two ticking time bombs.

* * *

"Where is she?" Sam asked as they sat outside the Stark house.

"She'll be here. They've been throwing thunderbolts at each other's favorite toys. There's nothing left to destroy but each other. This is basically ground zero." Dean explained.

"I hope so. We're gonna need them both in the same place if we're gonna take them down." Sam sighed.

They heard a roar and Maggie's car tore down the street towards the house.

"Screens up, Captain."

They all leaned down in their seats so she wouldn't see them. Once she was out and inside, they snuck out of their own car to walk up to the house. Don was sitting in an armchair sipping at wine as his wife stomped up to him.

"Want one, sweetie?"

"Shove it. We are so having it out right now." Maggie snapped.

At that moment they rushed in, Elena standing a bit behind Sam and Dean as they did the spell, Dean holding the bowl.

"Furor divina virtute in infernum eam detrude!"

Sam struck a match and lit up the contents of the bowl. It flashed and white smoke rose out of the bowl. There was silence as the Starks stared at them for a moment.

"Let me guess… chicken feet? Not chilled?" Maggie said, looking smug. "Rosalyn?"

Elena shrugged.

"Not really a reporter." She admitted.

"For obvious reasons, you won't be leaving this room." Don sighed, putting his glass down and standing up next to his wife. "Well, you will be leaving… just not alive. Maggie?"

They raised their arms and began speaking in unison.

"Puterea magiei negre..."

"Okay, plan B." Sam said.

"Elena?" Dean asked.

"No she's plan C."

"What's plan B?" he hissed.

"Talking." Sam said.

"... la suferinta..."

"Now? Really?" Dean demanded.

"This is obviously a domestic dispute. So if you can't kill them, counsel them."

"I could kill them." Elena offered.

"Yeah she can. You know what? Counseling? Not my area!" Dean growled.

"Supune-te ordinelor mele…" their voices rose as they reached the end of their spell.

"Okay, okay, okay. Uh..." Dean gave in, setting the bowl down on the chair and moving forward slightly.

"Look… obviously, you two are capable of wiping each other out, right? But you haven't, huh? Which means that you two… you still value whatever it is you got. A-and you want keep that dance going. Maybe it's… maybe it's punishment. Maybe it's… it's sick, messed-up, erotic, kinky, clamps and feathers kind of love."

Elena's eyes widened as Sam stepped in.

"Okay, okay, t-that's… that's going way too deep, there, cowboy." Sam said, pulling Dean back as he nodded. "Look, what he's trying to say is that… is that you two… whatever it is you have, you're bonded."

"Are you out of your mind? He cheated on me, humiliated me." Maggie snapped.

"We're not trying to say what Don did was right. When a relationship cracks, usually both parties have a hand in it." Sam said.

"Indeed." Don agreed.

"You're defending him?" Maggie flicked an arm out and he fell to the ground in pain.

"Whoa! Okay, okay! Okay, look… n-nobody can defend Don. Right? Uh, totally. But, uh, we get that you feel betrayed... because you were." Dean stepped in again, addressing Maggie.

"Don't suck up to her." Don growled, snapping his fingers and sending Dean flying back through the glass doors.

"Time for plan C yet?" Elena asked, looking at both of them.

"I was betrayed by all of them. Carl introduced you to Wendy. Dewey covered for you. Wendy did you!" Maggie accused Don.

"Okay, okay, look…" Don sighed as Sam scrambled to his seat.

"I got to say I-I don't think Don was lying when he said he regrets the whole Wendy thing." He stammered.

Elena shook her head with a sigh as Maggie gaped at him.

""Thing?" She demanded as Sam realized his mistake too late. "Sit down."

She made a hand motion and he fell to the ground again, groaning in pain.

"Yeah, affair… that's right, terrible." he grunted.

"I think the only thing he regrets is getting caught." Maggie said, turning to Don with her hands on her hips.

"Wendy was nothing to me. It was over as soon as it started." Don tried to convince her.

"She was part of a pattern, okay? I've had 800 years of this. Do not make me bring up the Renaissance!" Maggie threatened.

"Oh! Oh! You're one to talk. 1492 ring any bells?" Don shot back.

"The man was about to set sail! He could possibly fall off of the edge of the earth. I took pity. So, what's your excuse?" she questioned.

"I told you… nothing happened with the Medici chick! You've always been insanely jealous." Don accused her.

"Oh, I wonder why! Jenny. Wendy." Maggie began listing.

"Jenny? Nothing happened with Jenny. She's just my assistant." Don said defensively.

Dean struggled to his feet.

"That's true. She, uh… she told us… just an assistant." He huffed out.

Maggie flinged out an arm without looking at him and he flew backwards again while Elena stood there wondering whether she was going to do anything.

"Is that true?" Maggie asked with her eyebrows raised.

"Yes, I swear it, babe. I would never. I made a mistake. I'm sorry, Maggie." Don sighed.

"See? See? Guys, guys... you're talking." Sam said proudly as he stood up again.

Dean struggled up as well, leaning against the doorway.

"All these years, you.. you-you buried your anger and your disappointment till it tore you apart. All you needed to do was talk." Sam informed them.

"And I would have missed the nuking that my melon just took. Well, who wants that?" Dean said sarcastically.

Maggie flicked her hand out and Dean slammed into the other side of the doorway. Don snapped his fingers and suddenly Dean's head was surrounded with bees.

"Nice touch." Maggie said, nodding at Don.

"Thank you." he replied.

Dean inhaled and spat out a bee as Sam and Elena watched with slightly amused looks. Maggie let out a giggle and Don looked over at her with a tender look.

"He's right. I couldn't kill you. All I ever wanted is you, Mags. I've been crushing on you since forever. You're the woman that I want to never grow old with." Don said softly.

"I could never murder you either, Don. It's crazy... but true."

She smiled at him and they embraced, kissing passionately.

"Somebody want to call these things off? Ex-excuse me!" Dean stammered, looking afraid.

* * *

They walked into the motel room with a sigh, Elena slipping off her shoes as Dean rubbed at his neck with a grimace where he had several stings from the bees. He pulled out a flask and both Elena and Sam stared over at him.

"Oh, give me a break." He sighed.

"Didn't say anything." They said at the same time.

"It's been a long day." He snapped at their gazes.

"And it's not over yet."

They all spun around, Elena yanking her dagger out of her purse as Dean drew his gun. She instantly recognized the intruder as the man she saw at the art gallery watching them.

"Hi, Sam. Hi, Dean. Hello Elena." he said, smiling at all of them.

"Do we know you?" Sam demanded.

"Well, I definitely know you. You're the dead guys. Well, you will be in a minute."

The man walked forward and Dean shot him. Instead of red blood, black liquid began spilling from the guy's chest. It didn't slow him down, the bullet popped out and fell to the ground.

"Sorry. You're a bit outmatched."

Dean ran forward first and the creature punched him, sending him sprawling to the floor. Elena was thrown across the table next, her dagger skittering across the room. Then the man grabbed Sam by the throat, shoving him into the wall. Suddenly his body convulsed as if electricity was running through it. They all stood, looking at the door with wide eyes.

"Don." Dean said when he recognized the man standing there. "Well, thank you. We owe you."

Elena crossed to stand in front of Sam and Dean, wary of the witch.

"Good God. What is that thing?" Don asked, looking down at the now unconscious creature.

"I guess we should be figuring that out." Sam sighed.

"It is on our to-do list." Dean agreed.

"You know, find a bottomless pit and drop it in. Spell only lasts for a few days." Don said as he walked to the bed.

They watched as he began feeling around under the mattresses.

"Uh, what are you even doing here?" Sam questioned.

"Apparently, saving your lives… twice." He held up two coins before digging around for a third. "Got it."

He straightened out, looking at their exasperated faces.

"Maggie? Seriously?" Sam demanded.

"She was gonna kill us? We just saved your damn marriage." Dean snapped.

"Yeah, but to be fair, you also tried to kill her. You know how she is when she gets a bug up her ass. Got to love her, right?"

They all stared at him.

"Right. Bottomless pit. Ciao!"

He walked past them and closed the door behind him as they stared down at the body.

* * *

"Yeah, he's ready for transport. I just hope you got someplace you can put him, Bobby." Dean said as Sam closed the trunk, locking in the creature's unconscious form.

"I'll send you an address." The older hunter replied.

"All right." Dean agreed, hanging up.

They all put their bags in the back seat next to where Elena would be sitting.

"We should hit the road. You ready?" Dean asked, opening the back door for Elena.

Sam hesitated, standing by the passenger door.

"Hey, were you, um, were you listening to the Starks tonight?" he asked.

"Uh, a little, when I wasn't getting slammed into a wall or stung by bees." Dean replied, shrugging.

"You notice how they, uh, you know, how they… how they opened up, got everything off their chest?" the younger hunter asked.

Elena already knew where this was going.

"Yeah. Kudos on selling them that crap." Dean nodded at his brother.

"It wasn't crap, Dean. It worked." Sam said.

Dean suddenly caught on and sighed.

"Sam, I am so very, very, very, very... very, very tired…" he groaned.

"Dean, like it or not, the stuff you don't talk about doesn't just go away. It builds up, like whatever's eating at you right now." Sam snapped.

"There's always something eating at me. That's who I am. Something happens, I feel responsible, all right? The Lindbergh baby… that's on me. Unemployment… my bad."

Elena furrowed her brow, knowing that Dean wasn't exaggerating how he felt.

"That's not what I'm talking about." Sam said.

"Well, then what the hell are you talking about?" Dean demanded, frustrated.

"I'm talking about whatever you're not telling me about. Look, Dean, it's fine. You can unload. That's kind of what I'm here for." Sam said desperately.

Dean stared back at him, torn between guilt and annoyance.

"I mean... we're good, right?" Sam asked.

"We're good." Dean replied without a second thought.

Sam stood there for a moment, frustration and hurt on his face before he glanced at Elena. She looked at him with sympathy before climbing in the car herself, not knowing what else to do to keep their relationship from falling apart.

* * *

**PLEASE REVIEW**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer I do not own TVD or Supernatural**

**Thanks to DrawingMyHeartOut, Nyssandria, xxPaige23xx, RHatch89, SwanQueen4055, Dean Winchester Rocks, MaddAlice, RippahGoneWolf, and the guest for reviewing!**

**Elena has one outfit for the entire chapter.**

**The last two scenes are going to be shocking for you, so prepare yourself.**

* * *

The bank was in full swing and busy when the two men entered. They hovered by the door for a moment.

"You sure about this?" one of them, the taller one, asked.

"Trust me." the other said, leaving the shaggy-haired man behind as he walked up to a teller behind a desk.

"Good morning..." he glanced at her nametag as she smiled up at him. "… Megan. That is a really, really pretty dress."

She glanced down at it with her cheeks flushing with pleasure. He took her momentary distraction as a chance to make a hand motion at the other man.

"Thank you. It's vintage." Megan said, looking back up at him.

"Well, it looks new on you." he said, his mouth forming a charming smile

"Aren't you sweet, sir?" she gushed.

"Call me Dean." He said, leaning on one elbow towards her.

Behind him the other man closed and locked the bank doors, escaping notice as he did so.

"How can I help you today, Dean?" Megan asked.

"Um, well, I don't actually have an account at this bank, but I was wondering if there was any way..." he slid a $20 bill across the counter. "...I could get change for that?"

She smiled with a flirty look.

"I think I can make an exception... just for you."

"Thanks." He said, winking.

He glanced back at the other man, who nodded.

"How do you want it, Dean?" Megan asked.

He let out a laugh and turned back to her.

"Well, I'm gonna have to take a rain check... and all your money."

He pointed a semi-automatic rifle at her and she jumped slightly gasping. Suddenly he and the other man raised their guns, firing at the ceiling as screams filled the room.

"Hands in the air! Hands in the air!"

Everyone froze, hesitating.

"Your money's insured, so no heroes, okay?" the shaggy-haired man said, squinting around at everyone.

They herded everyone together, customers and staff, shoving them into the bank box room in a crowd.

"Get in there!" the shorter man shouted, glaring at all of them.

They huddled together and stared at them with fearful looks.

"You ready?" the shaggy-haired man murmured to the one who called him Dean.

"Yep." He answered.

Before they did anything else, the shorter man looked up at the camera and winked. Then they lifted their guns and began firing into the room, the screams almost drowning out the sound of the guns. They didn't stop shooting until the screaming stopped, smirks on their faces the entire time.

* * *

They were in the basement of Rufus's abandoned cabin. Bobby sighed as he filled up a syringe with liquid out of a bowl. Elena sat on a stool next to the table holding her dagger that was stained in blood and many other liquids that they experimented with to see if it would affect the Leviathan.

"Okay, Chet. Let's see how you like a little fruit of the poison tree." Bobby said, turning towards the monster that was chained in the chair.

He smirked at Bobby.

"Isn't that just a legal expression?" he asked.

"You're gonna wish it was." Bobby shot back, approaching him.

Elena watched closely as the hunter jabbed the needle into his thigh and injected the liquid.

"Hmm." Chet smacked his lips and tilted his head to the side. "Okay. Similar finish to holy water, not as bitter as rock salt."

They heard thumping as Sam and Dean walked down the stairs. Elena nodded at them as Bobby drew away.

"And how are my two favorite meat-sicles?" Chet said, grinning at them.

"Is he still sucking air?" Dean asked, glaring at the creature.

"Greatest hits didn't do the trick. I'm down to B-sides and deep cuts." Bobby sighed, setting the syringe down.

"Well, you better figure out something quick. That whammy that witch dude put on him is only gonna last for a few days. He gets his spinach back, we're gonna end up having to drop a car on him just to stop him." Dean said, moving behind Elena.

She leaned back into his torso as he wrapped an arm loosely.

"Actually..." their eyes snapped to the Leviathan. "Edgar walked away from that car. He's fine. Well, he is a little pissed at you, but…"

He broke off at their wide-eyed expressions.

"Oh. You didn't know?"

"Why don't you shut your cake-trap?" Dean growled at him, straightening up.

Elena grasped his wrist to keep him in place.

"Ooh." Chet said, smirking.

"Bobby..." Sam broke in. "… you've been using all this stuff and he still won't talk?"

Bobby shook his head. Dean nudged Elena off of her stool and dragged it up to the monster, sitting right in front of him.

"Huddle over, coach?" he taunted.

"How'd you find us?" Dean demanded.

"It was easy. I used pattern-recognition software and a basic heuristic algorithm to track your known aliases." Chet said.

Elena, Dean, and Sam stared at him with blank looks as Bobby sighed.

"Great. Just what we need… a Mensa monster." The older hunter groaned.

Dean moved to walk over to Sam and Elena followed.

"All right. Let's just start with the start. Where'd you get our aliases?" Sam questioned.

"From your trench-coated friend, obviously. When we were all nestled in at Camp Cas, kind of got the full download."

Elena's eyes narrowed as the creature mentioned the deceased angel. He grinned at her as if he could read her mind.

"That's just how we do."

"So why are you talking to us, Chet? You're not dumb. Why you spilling state secrets?" Bobby asked suspiciously.

"Cause I'm not scared of you. You can't stop me. You can't stop any of us. We can't be killed, you stupid little chewtoys. You are aware that I'm the least of your concerns, right?" Chet said.

They all stared at him blankly, unsure of what he was talking about.

"Oh." He grinned, looking thrilled that they had no idea what he was talking about. "You haven't watched the news today, have you?"

They exchanged wary glances before moving upstairs to turn on the television.

"The two men, who up until today were presumed dead, locked the doors and opened fire, leaving no survivors. Sam and Dean Winchester are now the subjects of a manhunt throughout the state of California."

Thy all stared at the screen with panicked looks as a male reporter spoke into a microphone. Bobby switched off the television and turned to Sam and Dean.

"Busy morning, you two?" he questioned.

"Those sons of bitches xeroxed us." Dean snapped, looking furious.

"But I don't understand how." Sam said, his brow furrowed.

"I don't know." Bobby sighed, taking a beer out of the fridge. "Maybe one of 'em touched you at the hospital."

Elena sat on a chair as Dean began pacing and Sam leaned against the wall with a stressed expression.

"It was the hair!"

They all glanced at the doorway to the basement where Chet's voice came from.

"Not too hard to lift some DNA out of a motel shower drain, guys!"

"You can copy people like that?" Dean asked after a moment, looking at Bobby.

The older hunter shrugged, looking clueless about it.

"Awesome." Dean sighed. "Well, what is their plan, exactly?"

"Squeeze you. Turn you into the most wanted men in America." Elena informed them.

There was a moment of silence as they all turned that information over in their heads.

"All right. Well, that settles it. We find these ass monkeys, and we kill them ourselves." Dean said, anger tinting his voice.

"Wait a sec. Every form of law enforcement in the country has seen your ugly mugs this morning." Bobby argued.

"Exactly. So what's the point in trying to hide?" Dean shrugged.

"Better than sticking your fool neck out. These things are smarter than you."

Chet let out a laugh and they all glared at different spots of the room.

"Geez, Bobby, don't sugarcoat it." Sam sighed.

"We don't have a clue how to kill them or slow them down, and your plan is, what? Go right at them?" Elena demanded, agreeing with Bobby.

"Genius." The older hunter agreed with a scoff.

"They're wearing our faces, Bobby. This is personal." Dean growled out.

"Yeah, I'm with Dean here." Sam said, nodding at Dean.

"No, this can't be like that, Dean. You should let me go after them." Elena said,

"No that's not happening. You know as well as we do that you're extra vulnerable to these things. You're basically powerless." Dean argued.

"I have more power than you do. They'll rip you apart." Elena said, standing with her arms crossed over her chest.

"You need to stay here and help Bobby figure out a way to kill these things." Dean said.

"He's right, Elena." Sam cut in before she could argue her point further.

She stared back and forth between them and rolled her eyes, turning to walk outside and away from them as she muttered about how stupid this was.

"Well, if you're gonna be stupid, you might as well be smart about it. You need to see a fella named Frank Devereaux." Bobby suggested.

"Who's he?" Sam asked, furrowing his brow.

"He's a jackass and a lunatic, but he owes me one, from back in Port Huron." Bobby said, scribbling down an address before handing it to Dean. "In the meantime, we'll keep working on Chatty Cathy here, see if we can figure out what makes him die."

* * *

Dean walked outside, immediately spotting Elena sitting on the hood of the Impala with her legs dangling off. He sighed and walked to her.

"You can't keep benching me, Dean. I have to protect you." she said quietly.

"I'm not benching you, Elena. We can take care of ourselves and Bobby has a limited amount of time to figure out how to kill these things. He needs your help more than we do. If we get in trouble you know we'll call you." Dean said, reaching out to put his hand on her cheek.

She looked up at him with a sad expression. Before he could say anything, Elena pulled him down into a crushing kiss, holding him tight to her.

"Don't die where I can't save you." she whispered in his ear once she pulled away.

* * *

"The usual?" Sam questioned as they pulled up to a gas station after driving for a few hours.

"Rhymes with sing-songs." Dean replied as he hooked up the hose to the Impala's tank.

Inside, Sam put a box of Ding-Dongs, two bottles of water and some other items on the counter.

"You guys sell protein bars?" he questioned.

The clerk glanced up at him before his eyes widened slightly.

"Yeah. But it's in… it's in the back, though. Just, uh, give me a second." He stammered.

"Sure. Thanks." Sam nodded, oblivious to the clerk's strange look.

He didn't notice him taking out his cell phone as he walked to the back room but then he looked down at the television behind the counter and saw security footage of the bank robbery with his and Dean's doppelgangers playing. He dropped his things and turned, walking out of the store as quickly as he could.

"Pretty sure the cashier just made me. Drive." He hissed at Dean.

The older brother didn't waste a moment, jumping into the Impala after replacing the pump. The Impala squealed out of the parking lot with the tires squealing as they hurried away.

* * *

"Special Agent Morris. This is Special Agent Valente." Two FBI agents said, flashing their badge to the sheriff of the town.

"Gentlemen. These Winchester boys are keeping busy, I hear. What is this, some type of psycho road trip?" The sheriff said as they walked up to the bank. "The second bank, plus that convenience store?"

"Couple of days ago, they were dead. We know about what you know." Morris answered.

"Excuse me." the sheriff said, catching sight of someone waving to him.

"Actual serial killers." Valente said, shaking his head as he turned to his partner.

"Crime spree means paperwork. Lots of it. Which you'll be doing." Morris replied, smirking because his partner was a rookie.

Valente rolled his eyes as his phone beeped with a message.

"We gotta go. Winchesters spotted at a Gas n' Sip. It's about a thousand miles from here. That's fast. Must have flown." He commented as they walked to their car.

"That or Batmobile." Morris shrugged.

* * *

"You sure this is the right place?" Dean questioned as they got out at an abandoned looking house.

"Yeah." Sam nodded, looking down at the address and back up at the house.

They approached the front door and Sam knocked. The door creaked open and they exchanged looks before walking inside.

"Frank, you in there? Frank?" Sam called as they did so.

They walked through the house, chills running up their spines at the dark, silent, coldness of the building.

"Frank? Frank, anybody here? Hello? Anybody home?" Sam kept calling.

They turned into a living room just as a lamp switched on. They caught sight of an older man with glasses and a dirty shirt sitting in an armchair pointing a shotgun at them.

"Well, well. Spider caught some flies." He said, grinning at them as they raised their hands in surrender.

His eyes flickered over them and he recognized them immediately.

"Well, I'll be darned. Psycho Butch and Sundance. You're on CNN right now." He said, gesturing to the television.

"No, no, t-that's not us." Sam stammered.

"I know. Can't be. Unless you had a teleporter. Do you have a teleporter?" Frank asked suspiciously.

Dean shook his head, trying to look innocent.

"No, sir. We don't." Sam said.

"We left her at home." Dean said, trying to ease the situation with humor while actually telling the truth.

"Well, my condolences on the doppelgangers. Now, who sent you? NSA? The Feeb? March of Dimes?" Frank questioned, ignoring Dean's remark.

"Uh, Bobby Singer sent us." Dean said with uncertainty.

Frank growled, jumping to his feet and cocking his weapon.

"Or not. Who?" Dean said, their hands raising higher.

"H-he said you could help. He said you owed him, from Port Huron." Sam said, trying to placate the guy.

There was a pause as he stared between them and he sighed, lowering his gun.

"Guy saves your life one time, and, what, you owe him the rest of yours?" he demanded, looking frustrated.

"That's usually how it works, yeah." Dean nodded.

Frank lifted his weapon again and Dean flinched as he pointed it at him. Frank squinted at him for a moment before letting out an exasperated sigh and beckoning them into a different room.

* * *

"Yeah I… I know what you're seeing Jeremy. No it's not true." Elena sighed, running her fingers through her hair as she paced the kitchen of Rufus's cabin.

There was a shuffle on the other end of the phone and suddenly a different voice was speaking in her ear.

"Elena everyone is on high alert. All of the law enforcement agencies have to keep an eye out for Sam and Dean. Everyone in this town knows them and now they think they're some kind of psycho killers who have Stockholm'd you!" Caroline screeched over the phone.

"They're not psycho killers. It's the Leviathan." Elena sighed.

"The what?" the blonde vampire questioned.

"Creatures that came out of purgatory. They can imitate anyone they want as long as they can touch them or something. It's really complicated. Just… tell your mom we're handling it." Elena said.

"Handling it?! Elena my mom is getting thousands of calls trying to get your picture out there! If they do you're going to be on the hunted list too!"

"We'll figure it out, Caroline. I have to go." Elena sighed before hanging the phone up slamming it down on the counter.

* * *

"Oh, yeah. I know that Bobby's into that magic hooey, but truth is, the government have been cloning people for years. Guess it was just your turn in the barrel." Frank ranted as they watched their Leviathan counterparts on the television.

"Well, actually…" Sam began, turning to him.

"Forget it. He's rolling." Dean said, shaking his head.

"Yours have been busy beavers. You're number two on the most wanted list. Quickest climb up the charts since Donna Summer." Frank said, standing behind his desk.

"So, what do you think we should do?" Sam questioned, stepping forward along with Dean.

"Cuba's nice this time of year." He shrugged.

"No, we're not hiding." Dean refused.

"Is he always this stupid?" Frank asked Sam.

"Look, we, uh…"

Dean cut off when Frank turned on classical music, making a face.

"We go to stick around and kick a couple asses. So, we just need you to get us further off the grid, but keep us on the board." He requested.

Frank sighed and shook his head.

"Well, first thing we got to do is wipe all your old aliases. No more rock shoutouts. It's Tom and John Smith from now on. And no plastic. Cash only. And change your phones on a..." He tossed them two phones. "...very frequent non-schedule schedule, you understand? Oh, and try to stay out of view of the 200 million cameras that the government has access to, kay?"

"200 million?" Dean asked, furrowing his brow.

"Big Brother, he has many eyeballs, my friend. You see a place that even looks like it can afford security..." Frank pulled a laptop out of Sam's bag. "… you just ease on down the road. This... this is your laptop, right?"

Sam nodded.

"Yeah. That's mine."

They watched with wide eyes as Frank smashed the electronic against the desk several times.

"What - gee - hey - what are you - what was that?!" Sam cried as he threw it on the ground.

Frank gave him a look before handing him a new, slimmer laptop.

"Uh... thank you, I guess." He said, not really knowing how to react to this guy.

"No problem. You owe me five grand, cash."

"What?" they said at the same time.

"Unless you wanna go comparison shop at the mall, sweet cheeks. Say hi to the cops for me. Okay."

The brothers exchanged looked, confused and frustrated by this man.

Frank grabbed Dean by the jacket and shoved him against the wall.

"Let's Blue Steel you up some new I.D., Mr..."

He took a picture of Dean, shoving him out of the way before grabbing Sam.

"...and Mr..."

He took a picture of the younger brother. Suddenly Elena appeared in the room next to Dean and he turned with wide eyes to look at her.

"...Smith. What the hell?!"

She looked at Frank for a moment before facing away from him to turn to Dean.

"Apparently Mystic Falls has gotten the message and they're trying to get my face out there as a lead to get to you two. I wanted to warn you. How is it going?" she asked.

"Great. This guy is…" Dean shook his head. "He wants us to pay five grand in cash for this shit."

Elena glanced around before looking at the guy who was still staring at her, uncomprehending of how she got in there.

"They get it for free." She said simply.

That snapped him out of his daze.

"No, they pay five grand. That's my price sweetheart."

In the next moment he was against the wall with a gun pressed to his head and her dagger at his throat.

"Let me tell you about my day, Mr. Devereaux. My boyfriend and my brother are being hunted down, not only by some really bad guys but by the entirety of the law enforcement system in this country. My own town is turning on them and trying to get my face out there so that I'll lead the FBI to them. I have to go back in a few minutes and torture someone so that they'll tell me how to kill them. So… Frank… before I go, how about those free services?" Elena snapped at him, her eyes glinting angrily.

Sam and Dean watched on with wide eyes, unwilling to get in the middle.

"Sounds good." Frank huffed out, looking terrified.

"Great." She drew away and sheathed her dagger and gun before turning to the Winchesters. "See you later."

She pressed a kiss to both of their cheeks before turning to walk out of the room.

* * *

Elena appeared in the basement just as Bobby shot Chet in the chest with a shotgun.

"Whoo! Do it again! Come on, do it again!"

Bobby put the gun down with a sigh, turning to look at her.

"So you're just gonna touch me in the morning, then just walk away?" the monster asked.

"Are you still talkin'?" Bobby growld at him.

"Aren't you sick of this yet?" Chet said.

"You bleed. Black... snot, sure, but you bleed, you can die." The hunter said.

"Sure, sport, whatever you say. Try the acid again, why don't you? Poor sap. You're stumped." Chet said, grinning.

"Give it a rest." Elena snapped at him.

"How long you think these'll hold once the spell wears off, hmm? Tick tock, old man. I'm gonna really enjoy eating you, right down to that hat." He taunted Bobby.

"I said shut up." Elena growled.

"And then I'm gonna eat everyone you ever said hello to."

Elena snatched a machete off of the table and launched forward, slicing it clean through Chet's neck. His head rolled onto the ground as black goo sprayed everywhere.

"Hot damn." Bobby said, crossing over to stand beside Elena as she breathed heavily. "Well, that's somethin."

* * *

"I marked all the towns your stunt doubles hit so you can see the pattern." Frank said, handing them a map with wide eyes.

"All right, great. Um, so, what is the pattern?" Sam asked, peering at the map.

"No clue, man. I can't see it." the strange man shrugged.

"Seems random." Sam commented.

"Little tip from a pro… there is no such thing as a random series of robbery murders by your evil twins. Well, have yourself some uppers and look at that some more."

Frank patted Sam's arm as he led them to the door.

"Good luck."

"Thanks, Frank." Sam said, looking at him sympathetically as he could see the hesitant fear left over from Elena's visit.

"For what? Sending you to your death? Your doubles want to be on candid camera, put you in the line of fire. Now, I'd lay low, cause I love life and its infinite mysteries. But you two want to be dumb, that's fine. At least have the common sense to ditch your car."

"Wh - uh, excuse me - what?" Dean stammered.

"Your doublemints… they're using a car just like the one outside."

Dean let out a whimper as Sam hid a smirk behind the map.

* * *

Bobby watched as Elena pulled a bottle out of the grocery bags that she brought back to the cabin.

"I thought you were against drinking the heavy stuff." He commented.

"We need this." she sighed carelessly, opening it to pour some of the amber liquid into two glasses.

As she poured, a knock sounded on the door. She nodded at Bobby as he picked up his gun and went to look through the peephole. He sighed, backing away and smoothing his beard once before opening the door. Elena smiled slightly as he caught sight of the woman standing in the doorway.

"What the... what the hell are you doing here?"

"You're all charm, Bobby." Jody Mills said, grinning at him.

"So my therapist keeps telling me. How'd you find me?" he asked, squinting at her.

"I'm a cop, remember?"

Bobby stared at her questioningly.

"I called Elena and she told me to come here." Jody sighed, holding up a plastic bag and a six-pack of beer. "You gonna invite me in?"

"Well, you may not want me to. I got one of the big mouths downstairs." Bobby stammered out.

Elena appeared on the other side of him, grinning at the other woman.

"So she won't go downstairs. Come in Sheriff." She said with a grin, reaching out to take the six-pack and put it in the fridge.

"Mm." Jody said, glancing around. "I, uh... I wanted to come thank you."

"Thank me?" Bobby questioned, watching as the two women put up the groceries together.

"Well, yeah... seeing as they were fresh out of thanks for saving me from liver-eating surgeon cards at the store." Jody said, grinning over at him.

"Oh, that. Just doing my job, which nobody pays me for." Bobby shrugged, his cheeks flushing slightly at her gratitude.

"Right. How you doing, Bobby? How is he doing?" Jody asked, turning to Elena.

The younger woman shook her head infinitesimally and Bobby shot her a look.

"I'm fine. Every day is a gift." He said simply.

"Your house just burned down." Jody said, raising an eyebrow.

"As you can see, I got a roof over me." Bobby said, looking confused at her concern.

"Bobby! Let someone be nice to you for five minutes?" Jody sighed with exasperation.

Bobby stared at her with wide eyes before nodding slowly.

"Okay. But not too nice. I can't be going soft."

"Course not. I can cook-ish. You know? Why don't you let me make you two something? Maybe put this new place of yours in some kind of order. Come on. I owe you that much." Jody offered.

Elena moved behind her and nodded quickly, giving Bobby two thumbs up.

"Okay. Thanks, Sheriff." Bobby said, agreeing.

"Jody." She corrected, grinning at him.

A few minutes later Bobby walked downstairs to collect his phone when he saw the Leviathan reattaching his head.

"Did you think it would be that easy?" Chet asked once he opened his eyes.

"No." Bobby said after a moment of hesitation. "But it's a start."

Chet groaned when he picked up the machete again to chop off his head.

* * *

Dean was glaring around at everything in general as they drove down the road in an old yellow hatchback. His eyes were attracted to a yellow My Little Pony doll that was hanging from the rear-view mirror. His hand shot out and he squeezed it, trying to get it to remain still. The thing squeaked and that was the last straw for him. He yanked out a pocketknife and flicked it open as Sam watched with raised eyebrows. He cut the thing off and tossed it into the backseat, wincing when it squeaked once more.

"You okay?" Sam asked.

"You know, it's bad enough that they're ganking people, wearing our mugs, but now this? Have us driving around in this... this caboodle while Baby's on lockdown." Dean growled angrily.

"It's temporary, Dean." Sam sighed.

"Nobody puts Baby in a corner." He snapped.

"Y-you know that's a line from…"

"Swayze movie. Swayze always gets a pass!" Dean interrupted his brother's taunting.

"Right." Sam said skeptically. "Uh, well, you want some tunes or something? Here."

He reached out and turned on the radio. Neither of them noticed Elena appearing in the backseat as the music switched on.

"And what would you say if I called on you now and said that I can't hold on." the singer croond out of the radio.

Sam looked at Dean and saw the look on his face.

"Sorry, man, I-I..."

"Just leave it. Probably gonna be the only thing on." Dean sighed, brushing it off as his hands clenched down on the steering wheel.

Elena opened her mouth to talk but the radio continued as Sam looked down at the map.

"There's no easy way, it gets harder each day. Please love me or I'll be gone… I'll be gone."

Her eyes widened when she saw Dean lip-syncing along with the music.

"I'm all out of love. I'm so lost without you."

Sam looked over at Dean, looking taken aback when he saw what his older brother was doing.

"I know you were right… believing for so long. I'm all out of love."

Elena stared for a few more moments before disappearing, deciding that she could just call them instead of telling themi n person so that Dean wouldn't know that she just witnessed him singing Air Supply. Dean noticed Sam behind him and stopped singing. He looked away out of the window, embarrassed. After a few lines, he began to lip-sync again.

"What are you thinking of?"

Sam looked at him again and he stopped until the other man turned away. Dean bobbed his head in time with the music and Sam sighed, shaking his head.

"What are you…" Sam reached out and switched off the radio.

"Here."

Sam reached out and flipped off the radio and silence filled the car as Dean slumped in his seat. Sam concentrated on the map, squinting at it. Jericho was circled and he suddenly remembered.

"Dean." He said, sitting up straighter.

"What?" his brother answered grumpily.

"Jericho… the lady in white. Blackwater… wendigo. Lake Manitoc… the kid in the lake." He listed the places that were circled and that corresponded to the places they'd been.

"They're hitting towns we've worked jobs in." Dean realized.

"In order. Since the day I left Stanford with you." Sam nodded.

"So, what, they want us to find them?" Dean wondered.

"Well, one way to find out… next case would be in... St. Louis. " he said.

Dean sighed, looking thrilled.

"Perfect. Connor's Diner. Best burgers in St. Louis. Oh, I deserve something good in my life right now." He said happily.

* * *

In the diner, two men sat at the bar. One was eating a burger and one was eating a salad.

"You know, he has one of these..." the shorter man gestured to his burger. "...every day. And in his heart, he thinks they're almost as good as sex. This..."

He threw the burger down with disgust.

"...is disgusting."

The taller man with shaggy hair pushed his plate of salad away with a grimace.

"Dead plants with creamy goo. It's like eating self-righteousness. I mean, you tell me which is worse."

"I mean, honestly, I just... you know what? I can't stand the guy. Talk about a hero complex. Oh, and he thinks he's funny. He thinks he's a damn comedian." The shorter one growled out.

"Who has two thumbs and full-blown bats in the belfry?" the other replied, pointing at himself with both thumbs.

"I'm serious. It's nothing but Satan-vision on the inside. I mean, how he's walking around in a jacket with detachable arms is beyond me. You know, I had a brother with this many issues once." The taller one said, sounding thoughtful.

"Yeah?" the other said.

"Know what I did?"

"Hmm?"

"I ate him." he answered.

"Of course you did." the other nodded as if it was obvious.

"How are these guys even a threat?" the taller demanded.

"Boss says they gotta go, they gotta go." the other creature shrugged.

"Right." he sighed before perking up. "Idea. You wanna trade? I mean, I'll take Chuckles over Schizo."

The shorter man considered it for a moment.

"No, I like this one's hair better. You can stay in the big one."

"All right. In that case, let's turn up the heat. The sooner I get out of this and into something more stable, the better."

They took out their guns and the shorter one turned to look at a table of teenagers.

"Hey, kid. Hey. Why don't you fire up the camera on that thing?"

The kid scoffed and rolled his eyes. He lifted his gun and pointed it.

"Point it over here." He growled.

The teenager's eyes widened and he picked up his smartphone, aiming it at the Leviathan.

"Shall we?" the shorter one asked, turning to look at his taller partner.

The other man nodded and they stood, raising their guns.

"All right, everybody be cool! This is a robbery!" the taller one shouted.

The shorter one climbed on the counter pointing his firearm around at the diner inhabitants.

"Anybody moves, and I'll execute every last one of you!" he shouted as the smartphone recorded their every move.

* * *

Bobby and Jody looked up when Elena reappeared in the room.

"You tell 'em?" Bobby asked.

She shook her head, her eyes wide.

"I don't even want to talk about what I just saw." She said, sitting in a chair and dragging a bottle of beer towards her.

Bobby and Jody looked confused as he dialed Sam's number.

"You figure something out?" Sam's voice came over the speaker.

"Choppin' their heads off won't kill 'em, but it'll slow 'em down pretty good. Till they fuse back up, anyhow." Bobby answered.

"Well, that's something, I guess. I mean, assuming we can even get close to them." Sam sighed.

"Believe me, I don't want you walking right up to 'em, either. We're still looking for something you can shoot at 'em." Bobby answered.

"Good times. All right, thanks, Bobby." Dean called.

"Hey, you take mayo, right, Bobby?" Jody asked from where she was making sandwiches.

"You got a chick over there?" Dean asked, perking up as he knew the voice wasn't Elena's.

"What?" Bobby said, his eyes widening as Elena grinned. "No."

"Are you even working, Richard Gere?" Dean asked, sounding amused.

"Shut up, you idjit." Bobby growled and they could hear Sam and Dean laughing over the phone.

"Where are you boys off to next?" Bobby sighed as Elena turned on the television to check the news.

"Uh, St. Louis. That's where we…"

"It's too late." Elena interrupted Dean as she saw the national news story.

"What?"

She walked to Bobby and picked up the phone.

"They hit St. Louis. They massacred a bunch of people in a diner there."

There was silence on the other end for a moment.

"Connor's Diner?" Dean sighed and Elena frowned.

"Yeah. How'd you know?" she questioned.

"Lucky guess." He said, sounding exasperated. "All right, so much for that."

"I guess we're off to, uh... to Ankeny, Iowa. Call us if you get anything else." Sam said.

"You got it." Bobby said and Elena hung up the phone after telling them to be careful.

* * *

The two FBI agents entered the diner, disgust on their faces when they saw the puddles of blood and body bags. They walked up to a police officer who was sitting in a booth holding a phone.

"Special Agents Morris, Valente. You were first on the scene?"

"Unfortunately." The man sighed, looking traumatized.

"Wanna tell us what happened?" Valente asked.

He simply handed them the phone and Morris took it with a glove on his hand. The officer pressed the play button on the video to let them watch. It showed the two men in the diner as they killed people one by one.

"No! No!"

Screaming filled the audio of the video as diner customers cowered on the floor. The taller man approached the camera angrily.

"Hey! Hey, hey, hey, hey! Keep that up! I didn't say you could put that down! I want the whole world to know what Sam and Dean Winchester are capable of."

He pointed the gun at the young man across the booth from the boy with the camera and killed him as he screamed.

"That all of 'em?" the shorter man said, jumping off of the counter with a grin.

"No!" the lone survivor behind the camera whimpered.

"All but one." The taller one said, pointing his gun at the boy.

"No, please, no."

His pleas were cut off when the taller one shot him down. They picked up the phone and looked into it, their faces very close to it.

"Well, goodnight, St. Louis. You've been a wonderful crowd. Grab your socks and hose, Iowa, cause we're headed to you next." The shorter one said.

They both winked at the camera before shutting it off.

"We need to alert…" Morris began as they turned to walk out of the diner.

"Federal, state, local… I'm on it." Valente finished for him.

* * *

Bobby carried a car battery down into the basement with cables as Elena sat on the table.

"Ooh." Chet said, looking interested as the hunter crossed to attach them to his chains.

When he turned to switch on the machine, Elena's eyes widened when his face and body changed to an exact copy of Bobby.

"Shit." She muttered.

"Does this skin make me look fat?" Chet asked in Bobby's voice.

The hunter himself turned with wide eyes before glancing at Elena.

"Balls."

"It's pretty dark in here. High-school dropout. A drunk like your daddy before you. Oh. You and Dad. Now, that's a can of scorpions. Your favorite singer is Joni frickin' Mitchell? Oh, Bobby. You are 10 pounds of sad in a 5-pound bag."

"Shut up." Elena snapped, moving off of the table and raising a crowbar to hit him across the head.

Chet's head snapped to the side as he laughed.

"Gee, Lena. Tell me how you really feel." Bobby said, staring at his doppelganger in shock.

"Sorry Bobby." She sighed.

* * *

Dean and Sam were walking down the street when a black Impala identical to Dean's passed them.

"Sam, Sam. Hold up. Don't move. Don't move." Dean said, forcing his brother to stop.

The Impala, which contained the Leviathan Dean and Sam, pulled into a parking lot on the other side of the street and the two climbed out of the car.

"Oh, no. This is all sorts of wrong." Sam said, shaking his head.

"Those are nice wheels. Tell you what, when this is over, I'm stealing those rims." Dean mumbled, taking out his phone to make a call.

* * *

"Tell the kids I said hi." Chet said before Bobby answered the phone and Elena fired up the battery to electrocute him.

"Yeah." Bobby answered, ignoring the Leviathan's grunts.

"Bobby, we got eyes on them." Dean hissed.

"What?" Bobby demanded.

"It's like looking at a funhouse mirror." The older Winchester said.

'Yeah, I know the feeling." Bobby said, glancing over at Chet as Elena turned off the battery.

He put the phone on speaker so that she could hear.

"All right, well, tell me you got something. Otherwise, we're gonna have to get in close." Dean said hopefully.

"Look, just hang back for now." Bobby instructed him.

"It's too late. We gotta…"

Suddenly they heard sirens on the other end and Chet began laughing again.

"Hang on." Dean said, sounding panicked.

"Hands in the air!" they heard someone shout.

Elena turned with wide eyes, both of them knowing exactly what was happening.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" Dean yelled. "Big misunderstanding!"

"Look, the guys you want…"

"Shut up!" the sheriff demanded.

"They're right there." Dean argued.

"Shut up! Drop the phone. Put your hands in the air."

"Dean?" Bobby called as they heard a scrambling sound and no answer. "Dean!"

"Cuff 'em." They heard someone said and everything was silent.

Elena looked at Bobby with panic as the Leviathan chuckled happily.

"You know the thing about you, Bobby..."

"Save it. I already know me, handsome." Bobby growled.

"You got the gruff thing down. Seen more death than an electric chair. Ready to die with your boots on. But, you know, deep down inside... you're no cynic. You still hope. You even got a thing for that lady upstairs. Tiny part of you thinks, maybe... after this is all done, you and Miss Sheriff can make your own little cabin in the woods."

Elena turned to glare at the creature as Bobby sighed and shook his head.

"That's hilarious. You're not getting any older than tomorrow, Bobby. Why do you bother?" Chet said.

"You a Browning fan?" Bobby said, turning as he picked up a machete.

"Come again?" Chet asked.

"Robert Browning. Poet. You got that name rattling around up there with the rest of my thoughts and feelings?" Bobby asked, circling him where he was chained.

"Bobby…" she began but he shook his head at her.

"It's kind of hard to sift through all the drunken blackouts, but…"

""A man's reach should exceed his grasp." Bobby interrupted the Leviathan.

"I like that." Chet said after a moment of consideration. "That's actually lovely. Browning? After I eat you, I'm definitely gonna hit the library."

Bobby raised the machete but paused when a few drops of liquid fell from the ceiling onto the creature's arm. They watched with wide eyes as his skin sizzled.

"What the hell is that?" Chet demanded.

The skin on his arm turned yellow, then black, and then black steam rose off of it. Another few drops fell from the ceiling and his skin continued to burn as he yelled.

"Get it off. Get it off! Get it off!"

Another drop fell onto his face this time and he screamed loudly, writhing in the chair as they looked on with shock.

"Get it off of me!"

They exchanged looks and then turned, running upstairs to find Jody on the floor wiping it with a cleaning substance.

"Oh, sorry. Little snafu here." She sighed as she caught sight of them and stood.

Bobby launched forward and grabbed her face, kissing her fully on the lips.

"Mm! Okay, wasn't expecting that reaction." Jody breathed, backing away from him.

"What the hell was in that bucket?" Bobby asked with wonder.

* * *

"Look, you're making a mistake. The real killers are back at the diner, okay?" Sam said desperately as they were led inside.

"Is that the best you can do?" the sheriff, an older white-haired man, demanded.

"I want my phone call." Dean snapped, glaring around at them.

"Oh, there'll be a call, to the FBI. Take him…" the sheriff pointed at Dean. "… to cell number one. Take that one…" he gestured to Sam. "… to the interview room. Once they're separate and secure, you boys call it a night."

"You're making a mistake!" Sam yelled as they were dragged away from each other.

* * *

Several minutes later, the two deputies were walking out of the station together, unaware that they were being watched by a black Impala. As they walked to their squad cars, the two Leviathan climbed out and started towards them with matching evil smirks.

"What, did you guys forget something or what?" the remaining deputy asked when his coworkers walked in.

One of them walked straight up to him and snapped his neck as the other walked off. His face transformed, the wide mouth revealing sharp teeth and a pronged tongue.

* * *

"Hey. I have a right to my phone call." Dean snapped as the sheriff walked up to his cell.

"A right? You killed how many people last couple days, and you want me to hop-to on your rights?" The man demanded.

"I didn't…" Dean sighed, putting his hands on the bars. "… please… just give me one… one phone call."

The sheriff stared at him for a moment before finally giving in, asking for the number as he held it out towards Dean's mouth.

"Dean?" Elena's concerned voice immediately said.

The sheriff looked surprised at the feminine voice coming over the phone.

"Elena, we got popped."

The police officer looked like he was trying to figure something out.

"Okay. I'll be there as soon as I can. I'm leaving right now."

"Look, we saw them." Dean said. "They saw us. So, we are coming to get us. You read me? Tell me you got something."

"There's a chemical..." he heard rustling over the phone.

"Sodium borate!" he heard Bobby's voice yell.

"Okay, let me get Mr. Wizard on speed dial." Dean snapped, frustrated.

"No, no, it's not as weird as it sounds." Elena assured him.

There was shuffling and Bobby's voice came over the phone.

"It's found in industrial cleaners and soaps and laundry powder. Just look for anything with the word Borax on it." the older hunter informed him.

"You want me to Desperate Housewife these mothers?" Dean demanded skeptically.

"No, just trust me. It burns 'em bad enough to slow 'em down. So get the strongest you can find. Hear me?"

"Borax. Burns. Got it." Dean nodded.

"Then douse 'em… then get close, and then chop the heads off."

The sheriff looked disgusted as Dean nodded.

"Got it."

"And keep the heads separate!" Elena called.

"Bobby, Elena… you are geniuses. Thanks. I…"

The sheriff closed the phone before he could get another word out.

"What'd you do that for?" Dean demanded.

"Borax? Decapitation? I recognized that Elena girl's name. She's the teenager you kidnapped from Virginia. What kind of sickos are you and your friends?"

"Hey, you listen to me." Dean growled as he walked away.

The sheriff paused and turned back to Dean

"If you don't go get every ounce, every drop of whatever that stuff is in this place right now, we're all gonna die!" Dean said desperately.

"Well, you're crazier than I thought." The man scoffed, turning to leave.

"Hey!" Dean slammed his hands down on the bar.

When he turned around, he found himself face to face with Elena and he sighed with relief.

* * *

The sheriff walked towards the office area but stopped short when he saw one of his deputies leaning over the bloody body of his other deputy eating him.

"What are you doing?" he shrank back when a third deputy walked in and the first one straightened up, his face covered in blood.

"What is your problem? We don't have time for lunch right now."

"I was hungry."

"Later. Let's go."

The first deputy transformed into Sam Winchester as the other transformed into the man he left in the cell, minus the blood, before they left the room. The sheriff turned to walk back into the room, shocked when he saw the girl from television who was meant to be kidnapped in the cell with Dean Winchester.

"What the hell?" they both turned to him, tearing themselves away from their hushed conversation.

"What is it? What happened?" Dean asked when he saw his panicked expression.

"I... it's just... I don't know what I just saw."

Elena waved her hand and the door opened. The sheriff didn't say a word as they stepped out because he just saw something far crazier.

"Okay, you listen to me, and we'll live. All right, keep your head down, get to the supply closet. Get anything that says Borax on it… bring it here. Now. Go." Dean instructed him.

* * *

Sam was handcuffed to the table in the interrogation room when the door opened. He looked up to see his brother entering.

"Dean!" he sighed with relief, holding out his handcuffed wrists as he shut the door with a smirk.

"I'm not your brother. But I am Dean adjacent." The Leviathan said.

Sam's eyes widened as he sat back in his chair.

* * *

"Sorry." Dean sighed as he took the gun from the partially eaten deputy.

Elena took his arm and began pulling him back towards the cell when they both saw Sam headed towards them.

"Sammy." Dean said, relieved.

Elena shoved Dean behind her as her instincts screamed at her.

"Not Sammy." Dean realized, raising his gun as they both shot at the Leviathan.

He smirked at them, walking forward to knock the guns out of their hands. He reached around Elena and grabbed Dean to throw him into a trophy cabinet. Glass shattered around him as Elena launched forward to fight the Leviathan. He instantly got her into a chokehold and shoved her backwards as she sputtered.

"You shouldn't be worried about what's going on here, sweetheart. You should be concerned about my brothers that are in a little town in Virginia." He said.

Elena's eyes widened and she looked at Dean for help, wondering what to do.

"Go." he hissed out, standing up.

Elena gave him an apologetic look before disappearing from the spot. The Leviathan laughed and turned to Dean as he struggled to stand.

* * *

"I just want to let you know how much I've really grown to hate you and your brother since we've been wearing you. I just don't get it. You could be anything. You're strong, you're uninhibited. You're smart enough, believe it or not. But you're so caught up in being good and taking care of each other." the Leviathan Dean ranted as he paced the room.

"What do you care?" Sam snapped.

"Because it pisses me off!" he yelled. "You're wasting a perfectly good opportunity to subjugate the weak."

* * *

Dean smashed a glass case open and pulled out an emergency axe, brandishing it at the monster.

"Cute. Really think you can get close enough to use it?" he scoffed.

"Not until you're burning." Dean fired back as the sheriff came up from behind.

He tossed a bucket of liquid at the Leviathan, who sizzled and screamed as it burned him. Dean launched forward, easily decapitating him with the axe. The body fell to the ground as black liquid spurted everywhere.

* * *

"Here's the deal." Leviathan Dean sat across from Sam. "Dean... thinks you're nutballs. He thinks you're off your game."

"You gonna kill me, or is this some sort of play with your food bull?" Sam snapped, bored of this game.

"All right. All right. You know, I guess that's why Dean never told you that he went off to kill Amy."

Sam looked at the Leviathan with shock on his face, his eyes wide as he realized what the monster said.

"There it is!" he slammed his hands down on the table triumphantly before standing up. "The look on your face. That is priceless! That's what I've been waiting for. Now I can eat you. Cause, you see, I like my meat a little bitter."

The Leviathan bent over him but Dean bursted into the room. The creature moved forward but Dean threw the Borax at him before dropping the bottle and decapitating the monster.

"Well, that felt good." Dean sighed as the sheriff ran over to unlock Sam's handcuffs.

"So... the FBI is on the way." the police officer said.

"Yeah, listen, about that..."

"Whatever I can do... especially if it involves lying about everything I just saw." The sheriff nodded.

"Good. I was hoping you could help us kind of... be dead. You know, quote unquote." Dean suggested.

"Yeah. Yeah, I should be able to swing that. All right." he nodded.

"Come on, let's grab a mop." Dean said, turning to walk out of the room.

He stopped when he saw that Sam hadn't moved.

"Sammy? You okay?"

Sam looked at him briefly before nodding and looking away.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He sighed, standing up.

"Let's go." Dean instructed him.

* * *

"That's when I got the drop on them and shot them both." the sheriff explained to the two FBI agents as he stood with the coroner beside him.

"You did good, Sheriff." Valente nodded.

The female coroner handed them the files.

"Here's the files. Cause of death… multiple gunshot wounds. I fingerprinted them first, of course, for your records."

"Mind if we take a look at the bodies?" Valente asked.

"Their bodies were sent to the funeral home for cremation, as per their living wills and religious requirements." The sheriff answered.

"Wow. That must be some kind of record. They died last night." Valente snapped.

"You can contact the funeral home. They might still have the bodies. As you know, once we do the autopsy, we're obliged to release…"

"You had the bodies destroyed? What kind of backwater operation is this?" Morris demanded.

"Hey! Easy. Forget about it. No bodies, no paperwork, right? Someone once told me that was a good thing. The good news still stands. This case is closed. Sam and Dean Winchester are dead." Valente said to calm his partner.

Morris handed the files back and they both turned to leave.

* * *

"The Winchester crime spree has come to a violent end in Iowa, where they were gunned down. Their kidnap victim, Elena Gilbert, is said to be safe in Mystic Falls after their deaths, having returned to her family…"

Bobby turned off the television as Jody pulled on her jacket and spoke.

"That should take the heat off."

"For now. Thanks, Jody. Couldn't have done it without you." Bobby nodded at her.

"Anytime you need me to spill something else, you give me a call." Jody offered, grinning at him.

"Actually, there is one more thing."

Bobby stepped up and handed her a cardboard box.

"Don't open it. Even if it starts talking. Especially if it starts talking. When you cross over Underhill Bridge, just toss it in the drink. If you'll excuse me, I, um... I got a body to bury in cement." The hunter said awkwardly.

He hesitated for a moment before leaning in and kissing her on the cheek.

* * *

"Dad, seriously? Lying to the FBI, incinerating bodies, and this stuff? What the hell is it? 'Cause it sure isn't blood." The coroner and sheriff's daughter said as she collected the black goo from the beheaded body.

"You're right about that, sweetie. It's much more than blood."

They both turned to see Special Agent Valente standing there.

"I can explain." The sheriff stammered.

"Don't bother." Valente said.

In the next moment his face transformed and screams filled the room just before blood splattered the walls.

* * *

A man in a suit walked out of a corporate building, answering his phone as he walked.

"It's Valente." He he heard on the other end.

"It's good to hear from you. I assume you've found our serial killers." The man said.

"Yes, sir, I'm with them now. Unfortunately, their heads are... missing."

"Huh! But the actual Winchesters are dead, yes?" the professionally dressed man questioned.

A sigh was his first answer.

"No, sir. They're in the wind."

He stopped as he approached his limousine.

"So, all that brainpower, all those resources, and those two field mice are still on my to-do list?" he demanded.

"I'm sorry, sir. We could grab some more DNA and double them again." Valente suggested.

"I like where your head's at but sometimes less is more. Those boys coming back from the dead again starts to strain credulity even for the American media, am I right?"

"Yes, sir." Valente answered.

"I like a subtler approach. Back to the vision board on this one." He decided.

"Of course." Valente answered.

"Just secure the bodies and get back to the FBI, and we'll give this Winchester situation a good think."

"Definitely. Thanks, sir." The other creature said, sounding relieved.

"And, Valente?"

There was a pause on both ends.

"Next time, call me with a win. For your sake. Please don't make me bib you."

"Yes, sir." Valente said, sounding fearful before he ended the call.

"I'm craving a latte." The man in the suit said to his driver. "You mind running across the street before we hit the trail? Decaf, two pumps of vanilla and grab yourself whatever you want… my treat."

He handed the driver twenty dollars before climbing into the limousine and picking up a newspaper.

"Mr. Roman."

He glanced to his left to see that another being had materialized inside of the car.

"I felt it was time we met in person. I'm Crowley. I run Hell."

"Yes, yes. Of course. I agree, 100%. High time we met." Mr. Roman agreed.

Crowley uncovered the basket he was holding to reveal muffins.

"A token."

"You shouldn't have. I love a muffin." Roman said, grinning.

"100% organic baby uvulas… gluten free." The demon said.

"So considerate." The leviathan answered.

Crowley slid the muffins over to him before speaking again.

"I'll cut to the chase, Mr. Roman."

"Please. Dick." He cut Crowley off with a charming smile.

"Dick. You and I control large interests that I feel strongly could meld, to the benefit of all." Crowley said.

"You think?" Dick asked.

"I know. Straight talk… we should be friends, you and I."

"Why? Why in the world would we be?" Roman questioned.

"Well, I brought you here... Dick. I found the way to open the door to Purgatory." Crowley said, confused by the sudden poison in his voice.

"To steal every last soul, you mean. You and that angel friend of yours. Don't roofie me and call it romance." The leviathan said with a pleasant look on his face.

"I think you've got me wrong." Crowley said.

Suddenly the smile disappeared from the monster's face and he glared at Crowley.

"Now it's your turn to listen. I'd sooner swim through hot garbage than shake hands with a bottom-feeding mutation like you. You demons are ugly, lazy, gold-digging whores. You're less than humans, and they're not good for much till you dip 'em in garlic sauce. I'd never work with you, Crowley. In fact, if I wasn't busy with better things, I might actively wipe your kind from the face of the Universe. And you'd deserve it. Are we clear?"

Crowley stared at him with shock.

"Keep the muffins." He said after a few moments before disappearing.

* * *

Dean opened the trunk of the hatchback, putting the bag containing the Leviathan heads in it. They were sitting on a pier waiting for Elena to meet them.

"Are you sure you want to dump these things? I'm thinking they might actually come in handy down the road. What do you think?" Dean asked, glancing up at Sam.

His brother was leaning on the roof with his arms crossed over it. He didn't reply, staring off away from Dean.

"Hey. What? What is it? Talk." Dean urged him.

"Nothing." Sam muttered.

"Well, that's convincing. Did monster-us give you the jeebs, huh? 'Cause I gotta be honest… I ain't looking in the mirror for… for a while myself." Dean joked.

Sam finally straightened up and turned to face him.

"Okay. You really want to know what's wrong?" he said, his voice sounding pissed already.

"Yeah. Yeah, you know my motto… here to help." Dean shrugged.

"Here to help." Sam scoffed, shaking his head. "Kind of like you helped Amy?"

Realization dawned on Dean's face and it fell as he tried to come up with something to say.

"Listen, Sam..."

"Don't… don't lie to me again." Sam snapped, backing away. "No, don't even talk to me."

They stared at each other for a few moments.

"Did Elena know? That you killed Amy? Is that the secret you two were keeping?"

Dean didn't answer but the look on his face told Sam everything he needed to know.

"Yeah, I can't." he opened the passenger door and yanked his bags out before turning to walk away.

"You can't what?" Dean demanded, moving forward.

"I can't talk to you right now! Dean..." Sam turned to him, his face furious. "I can't even be around you right now!"

"Okay, so…"

"I think you should just go on without me." Sam said, his eyes looking everyone but Dean.

There was a long pause before Dean nodded.

"Go." Sam snapped.

"All right." Dean sighed, closing the trunk. "Sorry, Sam."

Sam shook his head before walking away as Dean turned back to the car.

* * *

"You shouldn't have let him walk away!" Elena exclaimed as she walked through the parking lot, looking around to see if she could spot anything.

"I didn't have another choice, Elena. You didn't see the look on his face, he was pissed." Dean sighed.

"Yeah because you didn't tell him the truth. He thinks you killed Amy, Dean. You should have told him it was me."

"Because that would have made the situation so much better." He scoffed.

"Okay, just… I'm coming to find you. Just stay where you are and I'll be there. We'll go find Sam and make him listen while we explain. Then he can decide whether to be pissed or not." Elena suggested.

"He's going to be pissed no matter what." Dean reminded her.

"Well at least he'll know all of the facts." She replied.

"Where are you? You haven't found any Leviathan?" he questioned.

"Not a single one. I went everywhere in Mystic Falls and didn't feel anything. Now I'm looking in the neighboring towns and there's still nothing. I think they wanted to get me away to get at you." Elena explained.

"Well it worked, I guess." Dean sighed.

"No, you're alive. It didn't work. Just give me a second to go to one more place and then I'll be there once I know Mystic Falls is safe." She said.

"All right that sounds…"

Dean was cut off by the sounds of sirens on her end as multiple police cars surrounded her. They all shot out and pointed guns at her as she raised her hands.

"Freeze!"

She stood there panicked as Dean's voice floated over the phone demanded to know what was going on.

"I think there's been a mistake." She said, staring around at the police officers.

"There's been no mistake, Miss Gilbert."

She recognized the voice, turning slowly to see the Leviathan, Edgar, standing before her with a triumphant look.

"You're going to come with us now."

That was when she realized that she was surrounded by Leviathan.

* * *

Dean yelled into the phone for her to answer him when he heard a clatter, a scream, and buzzing silence. Then he heard breathing over the phone.

"Hello?"

"Dean Winchester. I thought it might be you. Congratulations on the death. What is your count at now?"

Dean paled as he recognized the voice.

"Listen to me you son of a bitch…"

"No you listen, Dean. We've got your guardian and trust me when I say that you are not going to get her back unless we allow it so don't bother to look for her, you won't find her. She's in our possession so it looks like you are well and truly on your own. Have a good day now." Edgar said before hanging up.

Dean stared straight forward with a pounding heart as he processed what just happened. When it finally occurred to him, the phone slid out of his hands and he sank to his knees in the middle of the dock.

* * *

**Well there you go, one of many plot twists to happen in this part of the series. I hope you liked it! Please review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own TVD or Supernatural**

**A few things:**

**1. Thank you so much to everyone who is sticking with me. I love you all.**

**2. Okay so this chapter might get a little confusing, especially after the end of the last chapter, but stick with it and I promise everything will be explained at the end of the chapter.**

**3. On that note, those of you who are wondering what the Leviathan plan is, you're going to want to pay special attention to the last scene of the chapter.**

* * *

Dean was walking down the street carrying a bag of to-go food as he scrolled through his phone. A sigh escaped from his mouth when he saw the **No Messages** alert on his screen and he tucked the phone into his pocket. He glanced around the parking lot and caught sight of a blue and gray Dodge Challenger. Before he snuck up to it, he made sure no one was around. Then he pulled out a hook, set his food on top of the car and broke into the car quickly. When he climbed in, he grimaced at the pile of garbage on the passenger seat.

"Geez. Have some pride." He said, sweeping the garbage on the flood and placing his food on the seat before leaning down to hot-wire the car.

"Yeah." Dean sighed with relief when it started up and he saw that it had almost a full tank of gas.

"Ooh! That make me hungry." Dean frowned at the DJ on the radio before ripping the fuzzy dice off of the rearview mirror and tossing them in the back. "You're listening to the morning chaos with me, Bananas Foster."

"The hell I am, ass-hat." He scoffed, reaching down to turn it off but pausing when he heard something.

"And now for the news of the weird… two very odd murders, to be exact. Mediums are dying in Lily Dale, the most psychic town in America. So if you want to know your future..."

Dean flipped the car into reverse as the annoying man spoke in an excited tone.

"...stick to that nine hundred line, cause is it me, or should those guys have seen it coming?"

* * *

He flashed his badge to the police officer before entering the room where the murder happened. Apparently the psychic was holding a séance when the wooden instrument from the Ouija board buried itself in her throat. He looked around the bloodstained chair that she was sitting in before squatting down. He found a tape recorder under the table and pressed play. Rustling noises filled the room from carefully hidden speakers around the walls. Dean moved a lever on the floor and mumbled voices joined the eerie rustling. Then he pressed a switch on the chair and a slight breeze filled the room, making the curtins move.

Dean smirked, reaching for one last, larger lever underneath the table.

"O spirits of the further... am I going to win the Powerball?" he asked sarcastically.

He pulled the lever and a knock echoed through the room.

"I'm gonna be rich!" he announced, grinning.

* * *

After leaving the psychic's place, he was strolling along the main street of Lily Dale, skirting past street psychics who continuously offered him palm readings. He caught sight of a café and headed towards it, reading the sign that said, **Good Graces Café**. As soon as he entered, he caught sight of a large blackboard at the back that read, **Special of the Day: You!** and **Soup of the Day: A State of Bliss**. Dean frowned and turned to walk back out, not wanting to be forced to eat his breakfast in the strange place. But before he could, a creepy man with hippie clothing and a wide grin appeared in front of him.

"Hello! First time at Good Graces?" he asked in a too cheery voice.

Dean stared at him for a moment.

"Yes." He nodded.

"Well, we're 100% locally sourced, biodynamic, and you get a free affirmation with every order." He informed Dean, still grinning.

"Think I'll source a taco joint." Dean said as his frown grew deeper.

"All right." the waiter nodded, turning away.

Dean started to walk out before he heard a very familiar voice.

"Just coffee, black, extra shot."

He walked around a pillar and immediately spotted his brother sitting at a table obviously reading a case file.

"You always wear a suit to get your palm read?" Dean asked, walking up.

Sam glanced up without replying or smiling. His eyes followed Dean as he walked around to his table.

"Yeah. Not surprised you caught this one. It's on every morning zoo in America. You mind?" he gestured to the empty seat.

Sam shrugged noncommittally and Dean sighed, sitting in the chair as the younger brother moved his case file to his lap.

"So, I, uh, I went to the scene. Wires, speakers, enough E.M.F. to make your hair stand up. Don't even think about getting a reading." Dean began speaking as if nothing happened between them. "Oh, and, uh, if this hadn't have been two psychics that bit it... I would have just chalked this up as being, uh, dumb and accidental. And I know, I know. This whole town's supposedly calling ghosts. But that takes some serious spellwork and some serious mojo. The only books this lady had were Oprah crap. When was the last time you actually saw a real psychic? Huh? Pamela? Missouri?"

He didn't miss the obvious glare Sam was sending him but he decided to ignore it.

"Anyway, this…" he gestured between them. "… is good. And, uh, how you been?"

Sam didn't get a chance to answer when the same creepy man came prancing up.

"And what can I get for you?" he asked, staring straight at Dean.

"Uh, pancakes, side of pig. Coffee, black." Dean said quickly and the waiter wrote it down.

"Fantastic. You are a virile manifestation of the divine." He informed Dean before turning to skip off.

"What the hell did he say to me?" Dean said, looking at Sam with a slightly fearful expression.

His younger brother simply scoffed, shaking his head and looking away.

"Oh, it's funny? Yeah, no. Go ahead. Laugh it up, Sam. Hilarious." Dean said, almost wishing that his brother would laugh at him because it would be better than the glare.

"Dean..." Sam sighed.

"Oh, he speaks." Dean commented, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Look..."

"Sam. Look, we're both here. All right, the chance of either one of us leaving while people are still dying out there…" Dean lifted his hand and made a zero sign before clicking his tongue. "You might as well bite the bullet and work with me on this one."

"I don't know if I can." Sam admitted.

"I'm not asking you to open up a can of worms, okay, I'm not even asking you where the hell you've been for the past week and a half."

"Good." Sam acknowledged.

"I'm just saying, let's try and stop the killings. That's it." Dean offered.

Sam considered it for a moment before nodding.

"Okay."

"Okay? Good." Dean said, nodding as well before leaning back in his seat.

On the other side of the table, a woman stopped and turned to look at them.

"Can I help you?" Dean asked, staring back at her as panic rose in her eyes.

"You're the brothers from the…"

"Oh, no, no, no, no. The Winchester guys on the news a couple weeks back? No… we get that a lot." Sam reassured her quickly.

"Yeah, no. Those depraved killers got put down like the dogs that they were. Us on the other hand, we're completely harmless." Dean lied, grinning his most charming smile at her.

The woman let out a laugh and shook her head, putting her hand on her forehead.

"Oh, yeah! I'm sorry. Silly me. And I can see by your energies, you're completely gentle."

A man walked up and put an arm around her shoulders.

"Excuse my friend. She's excitable. Sweetheart, look at them, hmm? They're FBI." The man said in a thick accent.

"Oh!" She sighed as Dean and Sam stared at him questioningly.

"I'm Russian. We can spot the law. You must be here about the tragedies." He explained.

"Oh, we're just beside ourselves about what happened." The woman said, putting her hands over her heart.

"Yeah. And so close to festival season, huh?" Dean said, staring back and forth between them suspiciously.

"Yeah… no!" the woman corrected herself quickly.

"Of course we are worried. We have no idea what's going on, huh?" the man nodded before handing a business card to Sam. "Nikolai. Let me know if I can help you. I'm highly intuitive."

"Nikolai Lishin, spoon bender?" Sam read.

"Mm. World famous." Nikolai said as he picked up Sam's spoon. "Come to my demonstration at the festival, huh?"

He made a hand motion over the spoon and grunted, causing both of the brothers' eyebrows to raise skeptically.

"I teach you to harness the power of your mind."

Nikolai put the spoon down and faced the woman.

"Come, let's leave them be."

They walked off towards their own table, leaving Dean and Sam alone.

"So glad we decided to vacation here, huh? Right?" Dean commented, turning back to face forward.

Sam put the case file on the table in front of Dean, willing to share now.

"All right. Here we go. First death... second death."

Dean glanced at the photograph on the table of the first psychic who died.

"What am I looking at?" he questioned

"Well, see this? Now, this is Imelda Graven, death number one. She was brained by her own crystal ball." Sam explained.

"Bummer, and ironic." He commented before turning the page.

The next photograph was of the medium who died second. Dean frowned and flipped back to the first photograph when he noticed something.

"Same necklace?" he said.

"Yeah. See, Imelda gave it to Goldy in her will." Sam informed him.

"Okay, so, cursed object, maybe?" Dean shrugged.

"Worth looking into. Goldy's next of kin lives in town, also a psychic." Sam said.

"Oh, good. I haven't had my fill." Dean sighed, closing the file as Sam attempted to pour sugar into his coffee while holding his spoon up to stir it.

As he held it, the spoon bent into a shape that would make it impossible to use. Sam let out a sigh and glared over at the spoon bender at the table who was grinning at the woman.

"He broke my spoon." He snapped, dropping it on the table and giving up on his coffee.

Dean let out a chuckle before covering it up and looking back at the file.

"Hey where's Elena?" Sam asked as if he just realized that she was missing.

"In Mystic Falls hanging out with everyone there. She might join us later if she's up to it." Dean answered almost too quickly.

Sam didn't notice, shrugging it off as they stood to walk out of the café.

* * *

They walked toward the house of Goldy's granddaughter. The woman in question was stepping out of the house with a friend.

"Melanie Golden? Hi. Uh... got a minute?" Dean asked.

They held up their badges and Melanie's friend glanced over at her.

"You want me to stay?"

"No, that's okay." Melanie said, shaking her head.

"Okay." The two women embraced before Melanie led them inside.

"A friend. She just heard about my grandmother... which is, I guess, why you guys are here, so come on in."

There was a suitcase in the entryway and the house was a little messy.

"Sorry. I just got back." Melanie explained.

"You were out of town?" Dean questioned.

"Yeah, I work the circuit… hotels, conventions, you know."

"Oh." Dean nodded. "Wait. No offense, but... you don't seem all that psychic."

"Why do you say that?" Melanie asked, cocking her head to the side.

"Well, I mean, just, you know, where's all the... crystals and pyramids?" he questioned, glancing around at her normal looking home.

"I'm off the clock. Also not psychic." They both looked at her with surprise and then slight judgment. "What? It's an honest living."

"Interesting definition of honest." Dean commented.

"Well, I honestly read people. It's just less whoo-whoo, more body language. Like you two…"

She glanced between them, narrowing her eyes.

"Long-time partners, but, um... a lot of tension." Melanie gestured to Sam first, then Dean. "You're pissed. And you're stressed. It's not brain surgery. It's kind of why my grandma and me didn't get along. I mean, she'd go full smoke-machine, but she still actually believed in all that stuff, so..."

"You don't?" Dean asked.

"You do?" she scoffed.

"I've got an open mind. You'd be surprised." Dean said, smiling at her.

"Hmm." Melanie murmured.

"I'm sorry to have to ask, b-but there's a necklace of your grandmother's." Sam questioned.

"Don't have it. Everything went straight to the emporium. She had a deal with the owner." Melanie informed them.

"The emporium?" Sam questioned.

* * *

When they walked up to the counter at the emporium that Melanie directed them to, the man there set his coffee cup down and stopped them with a contemplative expression.

"Mmm. Mmm. You're looking... for something." He said mysteriously but really he just sounded stupid.

"You're good." Dean nodded at him, sarcasm filling his voice as Sam rolled his eyes.

They were already tired of the psychic act.

"You Jimmy Tomorrow?" Sam questioned.

"Mm-hmm." The man who owned the shop nodded.

"We're looking for a necklace." He said.

"Oh. Romantic." Jimmy said.

They shot him matching glares.

"It would have come in with Grandma Goldy's effects." Sam continued, pulling out the picture of Imelda Goldy to show the necklace she was wearing.

"Oh. Yes, yes. Now, you do know that this is the Orb of Thessaly." Jimmy said as he pulled out a big box

"We did not know." Dean said, faking an impressed tone.

"Very powerful, very rare." The man nodded, pulling a smaller necklace out of the large box.

"Let me guess. Very expensive." Dean said, already knowing this game.

"Worth every penny." Jimmy assured him as he opened the jewelry box to reveal the red necklace.

"Well, in that case..."

Dean and Sam held up their ID's.

"...we'll be taking the state's-evidence discount."

Jimmy sighed.

"What's going on?"

"A murder investigation that we'd like to personally thank you for not obstructing." Sam said, reaching out to take the necklace.

"You know, I give private energetic readings." Jimmy said quickly grabbing Sam's wrist.

"No, thanks." Sam said, narrowing his eyes at the man.

"A loss weighs on you. You're angry. It's complicated. Come see me, Agent."

He handed Sam a business card and the hunter looked down at it with an annoyed look.

"Thanks, Jimmy. We'll see you." Dean said.

"You can come too, I can see the absence in your heart. Something you've forgotten is missing." He said cryptically.

Dean rolled his eyes and they turned to walk away.

"The bureau's gonna reimburse me for the necklace, right?" Jimmy called after them.

"Oh, we'll send you a check." Dean assured him, obviously lying.

"Right." Jimmy scoffed.

They walked out as Sam inspected the necklace.

"Went a little Mentalist on us there, didn't he?" Dean commented.

Sam glanced at him but didn't answer.

"All right. Next question. What's an Orb of Thessaly?" he wondered.

"I know one thing… it's made in Taiwan." Sam said, tossing the necklace to Dean as they approached the car.

"Oh, a fake, around here. Imagine that. 'Course, that means that whatever's killing mediums is still out there." Dean reminded him as they climbed into the car.

* * *

Dean sighed as he sat up from the single bed that he was lying on. The room felt cold and empty without anyone else in it. He reached out, picking up his cellphone and dialing the number, holding it to his ear.

This is Elena! I can't come to the… Dean stop!" Elena's delighted voice came over the phone. "She can't come to the phone because…"

He ended the call without listening to the whole voicemail. He couldn't really remember the last time he talked to Elena and that was bothering him. Part of him was worried that she'd disappeared off to another country again and the other was concerned that she might be in danger but he brushed it off, knowing that he was turning into that needy boyfriend he never wanted to be. A knock on his door pulled him out of his thoughts and he walked to it to find Sam there.

"There's been another murder." His brother said simply.

* * *

They glanced down at the bloodstained coffee table covered in various silverware before looking up at the body of the Russian psychic.

"He probably should have bent those with the power of his mind." Dean commented, making Sam roll his eyes as a police officer walked up to them.

"Chief. We met at the station." Sam reminded the man.

"Right. Morning, Agent." He said, nodding.

"Morning. Uh, this is Agent Borne." Sam introduced Dean before diving into the information. "So, what happened?"

"It's a weird one. Chest full of cutlery." The chief replied.

"All right. We're gonna take a look around. Let us know if you get any leads." Dean said, nodding at the officer.

"Oh, I got leads coming out of my ass. As of 9 o'clock, our tip line had 46 calls, all from clairvoyants that know what really happened." He said.

"What's the popular theory?" Dean questioned.

"It's a toss-up between a ghost and some sort of ogre that only attacks Russians." The police chief answered.

"Policing Lily Dale sounds fun." He said, raising his eyebrows.

"It was either this or Los Angeles." The chief sighed.

"So, these clairvoyants, did they give any details as to why they thought it was a ghost? Or a... Russian ogre?" Sam asked.

"Their spirit monkey said so. Plus, apparently, this guy claims he had a vision of his own death, cutlery and all.

DEAN's phone rings."

Dean's phone began ringing.

"Excuse me."

He stepped away from the other two men before answering.

"Hello?"

"Agent Borne? It's Melanie Golden." The woman's voice came over the other end.

"Everything okay?" he asked, sensing worry in her voice.

"Did you mean it when you said you had an open mind?" Melanie asked hesitantly.

* * *

"I hadn't checked it until today. I mean, the only person who ever called my landline was my grandma."

They were all standing over the phone.

"That's okay. Go on." Sam said.

"Look, I wouldn't put any stock in it. I mean, she was always calling me with some crazy dream she was sure was a sign, that kind of thing, but... uh, is it true Nikolai had a real vision of his death?" Melanie questioned.

"That's what we were told." Dean confirmed.

"Well, so did she… the day she died." The young woman said.

"What'd she say?" Dean asked.

"Well, you can listen to it if you want. She said she was in a séance, then the lights go, it's freezing."

"Wait, she said that? That the room got cold?" Sam interrupted.

"Yeah. Why? Is that important?" Melanie asked.

Sam and Dean glanced at each other, unspoken communication flowing between them.

"What? What is it?" she asked, her eyes widening.

"A ghost. The real deal." Dean said, turning back to face her.

"Come on. You're serious." Melanie said, frowning at them.

"Yeah. See, there's, uh, fake whoo-whoo crap, and there's real whoo-whoo crap." Dean explained.

"Well, yeah, but... ghosts?" she asked skeptically.

"Oh, trust me. There's a lot weirder out there than that." Dean assured her.

"So The X-files is real, or you just stopped talking like an FBI agent." Melanie acknowledged.

"Well, um... we're not FBI agents." Sam said hesitantly.

Melanie stared between them for a moment.

"I need a drink." She announced.

"I support that." Dean nodded as Sam frowned at him.

* * *

"You know, if this is a spirit, it ain't your average spook tied to a house. I mean, this thing is boogieing all over town." Dean commented as they walked down the main street.

"Not surprised." Sam said, glancing at all of the psychic signs around them. "I mean, how many crystal balls do you figure there are in Lily Dale?"

"Somewhere between 50 and, uh, all of them." Dean sighed as they approached their car but they stopped without getting in.

"Well, I mean, quartz can act as an antenna for spirits, right? I mean, that's why mediums started using crystal balls in the first place." Sam commented.

"Well, that means that every storefront in town has got a ghost satellite dish." Dean nodded.

"Exactly. And this place is packed with people summoning spirits." Sam reminded him.

"Yeah, but, dude, most of these guys can't even call a taxi." Dean said.

"All it takes is one." Sam shrugged.

"That's gonna be like looking for a needle in a stack of fake needles." Dean sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"It's worse. I mean, I'll bet you anything some of these guys got real juice. I'm not talking kill-people level. I'm just saying, enough to make it complicated."

"I hate this town." Dean groaned. "All right, so what? Start hitting up the Miss Cleos?"

"I was thinking split up and canvass. It's faster." Sam said, turning to walk off before Dean had a chance to argue.

"Right. Course you were." Dean nodded, climbing into the Challenger.

* * *

Dean found himself with Melanie outside of another psychic's house.

"She's my friend. She called me freaking out." Melanie explained as she walked up the steps.

Dean nodded before knocking on the door. It opened to reveal an eccentric looking woman peering out at them.

"It's okay. Like I said on the phone, he can help." Melanie assured her.

"Phony lawman, huh?" the woman asked, quirking her eyebrow at Dean.

"Yeah, cause nobody can relate to phony around here." Dean shot back.

"Well, if you can do something, I don't care if you call yourself the Pope." Melanie's friend said, stepping aside to let them in.

"All right. What happened, exactly?" Dean asked as they gathered in her séance room.

"What happened is, I had a friggin' vision. Something is coming for me." the woman said, sounding panicked.

"What's coming? Did you get a look?" he questioned.

"No. But I sure felt it when it started breaking my bones. I don't want to die." She answered.

"Okay. We'll figure it out. The vision happened in here?" Dean said, glancing around.

"Yeah, by the cash box." Melanie's friend said, gesturing to it.

Dean studied the room, noticing a camera in one of the masks on the wall.

"There any chance good-lookin' was watching?" he asked, turning to look at Melanie's friend who shrugged.

Minutes later they were watching the video footage. As the woman walked across the room, the feed flickered and showed static for a moment.

"What was that?" the woman said, gasping.

Dean went back, replaying the footage at a slower speed. Suddenly the ghost of a woman appeared behind the woman on the video.

"What the hell?!" Melanie exclaimed, shocked.

The ghost put her hands directly on the fake psychic's head.

"Oh, my God." Melanie's friend breathed.

"W-was that, I mean, an actual…" Melanie stuttered.

"Bona fide. Yeah. Well, no offense, but nobody's having psychic visions around here. This, uh, spirit, whoever she is, is giving them out." Dean informed them.

"And then killing people?"

"Until we stop her. Well, the good news is you said you saw a clock and it read 2 a.m., so that gives us a little time. Now, does anybody recognize this chick?" Dean asked, gesturing to the screen where it was paused on the ghost.

"You know, I swear I've seen her, like in a painting or something." Melanie realized.

"A painting? Like, a…" Dean began, frowning at her.

"No, not a painting. In one of those old photos in the museum."

* * *

"Lily Dale has long been a haven for the psychically gifted. Tortured elsewhere, they're embraced here. My own family has a modest natural gift. We also celebrate our long and colorful history of... embellishers." They heard the tour guide as he led a group of people through the museum.

The people laughed as he gestured towards a display.

"Ectoplasm illusion, circa 1890."

Sam rolled his eyes and walked out of the room with Dean following, the guide's voice following them.

"Walking, walking. Now as you may know, ectoplasm..."

They came to a Sibling Act room and the tour guide walked in as well, leaving his tour behind the gift shop.

"Never ended well for the siblings." The guide said.

"Why is that?" Dean piped up, turning to him.

"Mm, the strain of working together, or maybe just being around each other all their lives. Those two were the exception…" the guide pointed to a photo of two men. "The Campbells. Got along famously. Of course, that was just a stage name. They weren't actually brothers. That was a cover for their, um... alternative lifestyle. Any other questions I can answer?"

"Yes. Who are they?" Sam pointed to a photo of two women and Dean recognized one of them as the woman from the video.

"Oh, the Fox sisters… among the founders of Lily Dale. Kate Fox… quite troubled, apparently, but mesmerizing onstage. She's said to be able to levitate objects and foretell one's death."

"That's her." Dean whispered.

"Her older sister, Margaret… perhaps not a natural psychic."

"So, full of crap." Dean said plainly.

"Yes, well... she didn't have her sister's charisma, but she looked after Kate. Sometimes, one's true gift is taking care of others." The guide said.

"So, what happened to them?" Sam questioned.

"Lived here all their lives." The man informed him.

"Lived here and died here?" he said.

"Yes, well... buried in the cemetery." The guide said.

"Great. That was very educational. Thank you." Sam nodded at him and turned to his brother. "Dean."

They turned to walk out but the guide stopped Dean, grabbing his arm.

"I'm sorry, I don't normally do this during business hours, but do you know an Eleanor... or an… Elena?"

Dean stared back at him with shock, his heart rate picking up.

"She's calling for you, screaming, actually. I can hear her voice through the ether. She cries for help. She's in pain." The man said.

Dean yanked his arm away and glared at the man, who looked a little dazed before focusing on Dean again.

"Anyway, don't forget to visit the gift shop."

* * *

"All right. Hit up the graveyard, dig up Kate?" Sam asked as Dean walked out of the museum.

The younger Winchester didn't notice that the elder looked a little shaken up.

"All right." Dean nodded. "Wait a second."

Sam turned back to him.

"All signs point to her, Dean." He sighed.

"No. Just hold on a damn minute." Dean snapped. "Enough with just the facts."

"We agreed…" Sam began.

"No, we agreed to work the case. We didn't agree for you to be a dick the whole time." Dean growled.

"What?" Sam demanded.

"You're pissed, okay? And you've got a right." Dean acknowledged.

"Yeah, damn straight." Sam nodded in agreement as he glared at Dean.

"But enough's enough." Dean said gruffly.

"Says who? Look, I'll work this damn case, but you lied to me, and you killed my friend." Sam reminded him, turning to walk away.

Dean followed after him, wondering if he should tell him that it wasn't really him that killed Amy. But he didn't feel like it was right so he continued lying.

"No, I put down a monster who killed four people, and if you didn't know her, you'd have done the same thing." Dean hissed.

"I did know her, Dean!" Sam yelled.

"Yeah, which is why you couldn't do it." he said.

Sam stopped but didn't turn back to look at him.

"Look, I get it. There are certain people in this world, no matter how dangerous they are, you just can't." Dean sighed.

Sam turned to face him now.

"Don't pull that card! That's bull. Look, if I've learned one thing, it's that if something feels wrong, it probably is!" Sam snapped.

"Usually, yeah. But killing Amy was not wrong. You couldn't do it, so I did. That's what family does - the dirty work. And I woulda told you, eventually, once I knew that this whole waving a gun at Satan thing was a one-time show. I think it's reasonable to want to know that you're off the friggin' high dive, Sam. You almost got us both killed, so you can be pissed all you want, but quit being a bitch!" Dean shoved past him and walked towards the Dodge as Sam watched him.

* * *

Sam dug through the grave as Dean held a flashlight on it.

"I get why she's killing people. I don't get why she's warning them." The younger brother commented after several minutes of silence.

"Give them a taste of the curse, maybe? It couldn't have been a joyride." Dean shrugged.

"Here we go." Sam said when his shovel came down on something hard.

He opened the coffin before climbing out. Dean poured lighter fluid on the bones as Sam did the same with salt. Suddenly the ghost of the woman materialized next to Sam and easily tossed him away from the grave.

"Sam!" Dean yelled as the woman advanced on him. "Back off, crazy eyes."

"Listen to me. Why isn't anybody listening?" the ghost of Kate Fox said, almost sounding pleading.

Dean held out his lighter but it wouldn't light up.

"No." Kate said, her eyes wide.

"You don't get a vote." Dean growled at her.

"No! Stop!"

Sam dug a set of matches out and lit one, flinging it into the grave.

"No!" the ghost screamed as he burned up and vanished.

"Nice timing." Dean sighed, glaring at his ineffectual lighter.

* * *

They were driving towards the motel in the Dodge when Dean's phone rang. He stared down at Melanie's number with confusion. They already told her that her friend was in the clear.

"Melanie?"

"Dean, you have to come back." Melanie cried.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"It's still happening!" she said desperately.

"Wait, what do you mean it's…"

"She's still coming! Just tell me what the hell to do!" Melanie exclaimed.

"All right. Listen to me. Calm down." Dean said, the car swerving as he tried to multi-task.

Sam took the phone.

"Dean, just give me the phone and drive." He snapped before speaking into the phone. "Melanie? Hey. Get to the kitchen."

"Okay." Melanie said.

After a moments, a scream sounded in the background.

"She's here!" Melanie cried.

"All right, just go. Get salt."

There was a few moments of nothing but screams before Melanie sighed with relief.

"It worked. She's gone!"

Sam nodded but suddenly another scream sounded.

"No, she's back!" Camille yelled in the background.

"I'm out of salt!" Melanie cried.

"Find iron. Is there a fireplace? Melanie!"

Suddenly there was a thump and the phone call cut off. Sam and Dean exchanged a wary look before Dean turned the car to speed to Camille's place.

* * *

"Should have known that whole good sis, bad sis story was just showmanship crap. Oh, and it turns out that Kate was just trying to warn people about her evil bitch sister. And we burned her bones, so that's gone." Dean said as they watched Melanie speak to the Chief and Camille's body was rolled out.

"Dean." Sam said.

"What?" Dean answered, turning to him.

"All we can do now is go stop her." he said.

"That's not good enough, by a mile." Dean commented, glancing over at Melanie.

"I know. Believe me. But… can we talk about this later?"

Dean looked to see Melanie walking towards them crying.

"Hey. How you holding up?" he asked.

"Been better." She sighed.

"Listen, if you need for us to leave…" Dean began.

"I need you guys to leave." Melanie said plainly.

"Okay, we will. It's just that... look… Margaret is still out there." Sam said.

She let out a sob before taking a deep breath.

"What do you guys need to know?"

"Is there anything that stood out?" he asked.

"Well, um... she barely gave a crap about me. I mean, I was just in the way. She was all about getting Camille." Melanie explained.

"Okay. That's something." Dean nodded.

"One other thing. Um... she enjoyed it. She was smiling." She said, looking disgusted.

* * *

This time, Dean was the one digging Margaret Fox's grave.

"I feel naked doing this in daylight." Dean commented, glancing up at the bright sun.

"Yeah. Let's just hurry up." Sam sighed, jittery over the possibility of being caught but the case was time sensitive now.

"All right, Mags. My lighter's juiced this time." Dean said as he opened the coffin.

He glanced up at Sam, their eyes both widening when they saw that the coffin was empty.

"Geraldo'd." Dean commented.

"Not good." Sam said as he scrambled out of the grave

"Never good." Dean agreed.

"Dean, if someone knew enough to take Margaret's bones, they're not kidding around. That's serious binding magic." Sam said.

"Great."

They walked to the car and Dean shoved his things into the trunk.

"Psychic ghost bitch on a leash." He growled.

We got to find those bones." Sam said.

"So we got to find the bonehead."

Dean took a folded piece of paper out of his pocket and tossed it into the trunk as well.

"So, what? We call Bobby, see what it take to harness the power of a ghost?" Sam asked, turning to look at Dean.

"Yeah." He answered before looking back at the paper he just tossed into the trunk.

He unfolded it and looked at the flyer for the Annual Lily Dale Psychic Festival.

"Hey, Sam, you know why I'm not going to spend my money at the annual Lily Dale E.S.P. Festival and hot-dog-eating contest this year?" Dean asked, holding out the flyer for him to see.

All of the featured acts were dead.

"Can't imagine." Sam commented.

"Because all the headliners are dead." Dean nodded.

* * *

"You know, after Nikolai... they asked Camille to take his spot. I mean, she's so popular. Was so popular." Melanie said, sniffling as she looked at the flyer.

"Okay, uh, all these people… would you say that they're the, uh, you know, top dogs in town?" Dean questioned.

"Well, it's not really like that." Melanie said, frowning.

"But they were all doing well. I mean, your grandma?"

"She wrote a few books. Yeah, and Imelda was on The Nate Berkus Show twice, so, yeah, I guess they were doing pretty well. You think that's why she went after them?" Melanie questioned.

"I mean, if you had to guess, who do you think would be next in line?" Dean asked.

"I mean, I don't know." She shrugged.

"Well, your grandma was headlining at the big hall, so who do you think they would ask to fill in for her?" he urged her.

"Probably... me." Melanie realized.

* * *

"Hey." Sam said as he walked into the emporium.

He just got off of the phone with Bobby, who was shocked to learn that Sam was working with Dean.

"_How's he doing?" Bobby asked._

"_Fine, I guess. Normal for Dean, why?" Sam replied._

"_No reason. What did you need?" Bobby brushed off but the concern in his voice left Sam suspicious._

"Agent. Are you here with my check?" Jimmy asked.

"I'm looking for someone who bought some things from you." he answered, putting the list he got from the older hunter on the counter.

"How do you know from me?" Jimmy questioned.

"I'm kind of doubting they sell ash-wood altars at the Gas 'n Sip." Sam replied.

"Valid. Let me see the list." The shop owner took the paper before pulling out some record books.

"Ah. Here we go. Credit-card receipt. I assume you want the address?" Jimmy said, glancing up at Sam once he found it.

"That'd be great. Thanks." Sam nodded at him.

"It's the least I can do. I just heard about Camille Thibodeaux."

He wrote the address down on the same piece of paper as the ingredients and handed it back to Sam.

"Thanks a lot." Sam nodded at him before turning to leave.

"You're welcome." Jimmy called after him.

* * *

"You sure that'll work?" Melanie asked skeptically as Dean made a salt circle around them.

"That should hold her off long enough for Sam to find the bones and burn them. Hopefully." Dean assured her.

"Hopefully?" she stared at him with a lack of faith clear on her face. "Does it hurt 'em? Burning their bones?"

"I never really thought about it. Probably, yeah." Dean shrugged.

"Good." Melanie said, looking angry and fearful at the same time.

* * *

Sam bursted through the door of the address with his gun drawn. Several screams filled the room.

"Where's the altar?" he yelled.

Finally, after a prolonged silence, he noticed that the room was filled with pregnant woman, their partners, and an instructed all on cushions on the floor.

"It's there!" the instructor said.

Sam turned to see a crude and obviously fake altar in the corner.

"You're... not a necromancer." He realized.

"This is a Lamaze class, I swear." The woman said, her eyes wide.

"I-I believe you. Sorry." He said, backing out of the building and closing the door behind him.

"Dean, it's the pawn-shop guy." He said as he hurried to the car.

"How do you know?" Dean asked.

"He goose-chased me to a friggin' pregnant yoga class." The younger brother snapped.

"All right, well, figure out where he put her bones." Dean sighed.

"I will."

Dean looked up to see Margaret's ghost at the window of the house.

"Fast, Sam."

When Sam walked up to the emporium, he found that it was closed. After a moment of wondering what to do, he took out Jimmy's business card and read the address on it, glancing around before jogging in the direction of the other address. When he found the building, he entered with his gun drawn. He looked around the dark room and walked to a table. There was a skull sitting on it as well as a lit candle and other objects. Sam picked up the skull, inspecting. Suddenly he heard the sound of a gun cocking and he sighed.

"Somehow, I just knew you'd be back." Jimmy said from behind him. "Hi, Agent. Put the skull down."

"Okay, okay. Take it easy. Here."

Sam raised the skull over his shoulder so that the other man could take it. As Jimmy did so, Sam whirled around and took the gun from the necromancer before shoving him backwards.

"All right. That's enough." he said as he pointed the gun at Jimmy.

* * *

"Is she gone?" Melanie asked when she didn't see the ghost around them.

"I doubt it." Dean replied.

"But she can't get past the line, right?" she questioned.

"Right." Dean nodded.

Suddenly the window bursted inward and wind howled in.

* * *

Sam knocked the table over and glared at Jimmy.

"Nice binding spell." He said.

"It doesn't matter. She helps me because she wants to." Jimmy said triumphantly.

"What?" Sam asked, frowning at him.

* * *

Dean pointed his shotgun at the window, waiting for Margaret to appear. Suddenly the wind broke the salt line and he groaned.

"Oh. Damn it. I hate when they do that. Get the salt. Go." he said as he walked forward.

"Dean!"

He turned to see Margaret's ghost in what remained of the salt circle. She held up a hand and flinged Dean across the room. Then she turned to Melanie, who was holding a fireplace poker.

* * *

"Margaret and me are the same. We're the real thing." Jimmy explained. "But guess what… sometimes the real thing just isn't pretty or entertaining enough. When I show people what I'm capable of, it scares them. I can't pay my rent!"

* * *

"Get behind me." Dean growled once he shot the ghost and she disappeared.

Melanie began pouring salt again as the ghost reappeared. Margaret advanced on them but Dean held up his shotgun.

"That's as far as you go, bitch."

* * *

"Margaret's happy to kill for me. She likes the leash." Jimmy said happily.

"You're sick." Sam snapped.

"You know what else I am? A real psychic, you dick-bag." Jimmy shot back.

The gun flew out of Sam's hadn and to the floor where he picked it up.

"Surprise."

* * *

Margaret's ghost grinned as the room began to shake and lights flickered. The floor suddenly split in two, forming a crack that split the salt line once more.

"Aw. Sorry, handsome." She said moving forward.

Dean shot off another salt round and she disappeared.

* * *

"Where are the rest of the bones?" Sam asked. "These people don't deserve to die."

"Oh, come on! Are you kidding me? I live in squalor cause I can't put on a show like them?" Jimmy yelled.

"Don't do this." Sam said.

He saw Jimmy's eyes flicker to a door and he knew.

"They're in the bedroom, aren't they?"

"No." Jimmy said, lying unsuccessfully.

Sam made a move but he shot at him, missing.

"You're not getting in there."

Jimmy glanced at the door once again. As he did, Sam pulled out another gun and shot him in the chest. Jimmy fell to the ground, dead, as he sighed heavily. He hurried into the bedroom after that, grabbing lighter fluid and salt. The bones were lying on the bed underneath the blankets, causing him to grimace. He quickly salted the bones before pouring on the fluid and striking a match to get rid of the bones.

* * *

"In the bed? They were in the bed?" Dean asked with disgust.

He had a few bruises from being tossed around by Margaret but other than that he was fine.

"Yeah." Sam nodded.

"Ugh. I can't believe he was boning her." he said, shaking his head.

"Dean." Sam sighed, shaking his head.

"Can I get you anything else?" the cheery waiter asked, bounding up to their table in the same café.

"Uh, just a refill. And if you affirmate me, I'm gonna punch you in the face." Dean threatened.

Sam hid his smile behind his hand as the waiter's grin faltered.

"All righty then. Coffee, coming up."

"I can't wait to get out of this frickin' fortune cookie." Dean grumbled once the waiter left.

Sam spotted Melanie walking into the restaurant.

"Dean." He nodded and Dean looked around to see her.

She was glancing around and he waved his hand to catch her attention.

"I'm gonna go, um... do something outside." he said, passing Melanie as he left.

"Hi." Dean said as she sat in Sam's seat.

"Hi." She replied. "You didn't stick around so I could say thank you."

"No reason to thank me." Dean sighed, shaking his head.

"You saved my life." Melanie informed him.

"Yeah, but not your friend's." he reminded her.

"Well... you didn't send that ghost, so... thank you for coming to kill it. You and Sam seem a little better." She acknowledged.

"You could tell that from the walk up?" he asked.

Melanie smiled softly.

"Take it or leave it. Also guessing you're not so keen to come visit here again, so... this is goodbye. Wish we'd met on a better week." She said. "Or when you're not pining over some girl who's missing."

Dean glanced up at her with surprise as she gave him a knowing look.

"I wish I had better weeks." He said, ignoring the remark about Elena.

Melanie gave him a sympathetic look.

* * *

When Dean walked up to to the Challenger, Sam was putting his bag in the trunk.

"Hey." He said, his brow furrowing as he glanced into the car. "That's your stuff."

"Yeah. Yeah. I figured we'd take one car." Sam said, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Works for me. You still want to break my face?" he questioned.

Sam smiled slightly, shaking his head.

"No. Uh, not at this moment. Look, you know what? Um... You were right. About Amy. If she was... just any monster, I'm not sure I could have let her walk away. I don't know. I mean, I'll never know." He shrugged.

"So, what are you saying?" Dean asked.

"What I'm saying is... I get why you did it. You were just trying to make sure no one else got hurt. But here's the thing. You can't just look me in the face and tell me you're fine. I mean, you're not sleeping, you drink for the record…"

"Oh, here we go." Dean groaned.

"Look, whatever. Last one to preach, I know. But... just be honest with me. How are those the actions of someone who knows they did the right thing?"

"You want me to be honest?" Dean asked.

"Yeah." Sam breathed, that being the first thing he wanted.

"I went with my gut. And that felt right. I didn't trust her, Sam. Of course, ever since Cas, I'm having a hard time trusting anybody. And as far as how I been acting... I don't know. Maybe it's 'cause I don't like lying to you. You know, it doesn't feel right. So, yeah, you got me there. I been climbing the walls." Dean nodded.

"I know how that is. But, hey... if I learned one thing from that museum, sibling acts are tough." Sam shrugged, closing the trunk.

"Oh, don't compare us to that hall of crazy." Dean grumbled as he walked to the driver's door and Sam to the passenger's door. "We're like poster kids of functional family life compared to them."

"It's a low bar." Sam scoffed.

"Well, hey... grading on a curve has got me past everything since kindergarten, so don't knock it." Dean said, smirking.

"Whatever you say." Sam shrugged.

They climbed into the car and Sam sighed.

"I still want to know how that guy bent my spoon." He admitted.

"Forget it, Sam. It's Lily Dale." Dean shrugged simply.

They sat there for a moment as Dean considered something.

"I think… I think we need to go to Bobby. There's something weird going on. I think it's something to do with Elena." Dean said, suddenly serious.

"Elena?" Sam questioned.

"In my mind, I think she's in Mystic Falls. But whenever I really think about it, I feel like I'm scratching on the surface of something. Like that's not true and I know it but I can't figure out why it's not true." He admitted.

Sam looked at him with concern, pleasantly surprised that Dean was being so honest.

"Let's get to Bobby's." he agreed.

* * *

"Do you think I sound crazy?" Dean asked Bobby with concern as they sat in Rufus's cabin. "I mean, she hasn't been answering her phone and I'm just worried. Something is wrong, Bobby."

The older hunter sighed, leaning back.

"It's like I'm scratching the surface of something and I can't figure out what it is." Dean explained further.

"It's called compulsion."

Both Dean and Sam turned, catching sight of the newcomer in the room with surprise. Elijah walked forward with his hands in his pockets.

"What do you mean?" Dean asked, narrowing his eyes as he hoped that the vampire didn't mean what he thought he meant.

"Compulsion. A vampire trick. I compelled you." Elijah said simply.

Dean was suddenly infuriated, jumping up.

"What gave you the right?" he snapped, starting forward.

"Dean." Bobby sighed and he looked at the older man. "I asked him to."

Dean stared at him in shock, his eyes wide.

"Why?" He asked, looking both angry and hurt.

"Sit down, Dean." Bobby said, gesturing to the seat.

Dean glanced back at Elijah warily before sitting again.

"You came to me two weeks ago and you were a mess." Bobby sighed.

"I don't remember that." he said.

"I know, you weren't supposed to. You were breaking apart, Dean. I thought you were going to drink yourself into a coma so I knew there was something that had to be done. You lost Elena and Sam in the same night. You practically had a death wish."

"What do you mean, he lost Elena?" Sam broke in.

Bobby glanced between them and then sighed, nodding up at Elijah. The vampire walked to Dean and bent down, looking into his eyes. Dean jerked away but before he could say anything, Elijah spoke.

"Remember."

"_They have her, Bobby. The Leviathan." Dean could barely understand himself past the slur of his words. "And Sam hates me because of Amy. Everyone is gone and it's my fault. I should have been there with Elena. She would be safe."_

"_Dean, Dean stay with me." Bobby urged him as he helped him into the bathroom._

_Dean immediately hunched over the toilet and began emptying the contents of his stomach._

"_I can't do it, Bobby." He whimpered, leaning back against the wall. "I can't fight this. I can't search for Elena and Sam. I'll go crazy. I can't do it. I give up."_

"_Don't you say that, boy." Bobby growled as he pressed a cool cloth to Dean's forehead._

"_I can't do it, Bobby. Please, make it end." He whispered._

"_No." the older hunter snapped._

"_I just want to stop!" Dean pleaded._

_Bobby drew away from him before heaving him up and out of the bathroom. Dean was passed out as soon as his body hit the mattress. He walked out of the room, drawing his phone out of his pocket. He scrolled through his contacts to a number that Elena gave him, one that he never thought he'd call in a million years._

"_Hello?" the voice answered calmly on the other end._

"_Yeah, this Elijah?" Bobby said gruffly._

"_Yes." _

"_This is Bobby Singer, friend of Elena's. I'm gonna need your help, if you can spare it." he sighed, hating that he had to ask a vampire for help._

"_Any friend of Elena's that requires my help is welcome to request it. Tell me where you are, Mr. Singer, and I will be there as soon as I can."_

Dean came out of the memory gasping, information filling his head and he put his face in his hands for a few minutes as he sorted through it all.

"So you just took my memory?" he finally said, looking up at Bobby. "Do you even realize how not okay that is?"

"Dean I didn't want it to be a permanent thing. You were destroyed and I knew that until you got Sam back, you weren't gonna be any help in looking for Elena. So I had Elijah stick around until you two idjits pulled your head out of your asses and got together again. Now you can go off searching for Elena and we can all help you."

Dean stood, shaking his head before driving his fist into the wall, breaking a small hole into it.

"She might already be dead, Bobby!" he shouted.

"No, she ain't dead." He said confidently.

"How do you know?" he growled.

Bobby sighed and stood.

"You two are connected, boy. If she died, trust me you would feel it." Bobby informed him.

Dean turned away, leaning over a table and squeezing his eyes shut.

"Dean." Sam stood, putting a hand on his brother's shoulder as all animosity between them was forgotten. "You have to tell us everything that you know about the Leviathan taking Elena. If we move fast, maybe we can pick up a trail or something. But you have to clear your head and tell us. Think like a hunter right now, Dean. Not like a lover. I know how much you love Elena and I do too but if we're gonna help her, we got to be smart about this. The Leviathan took her instead of killing her right away which means that they need something from her. That's good because that gives us time. Come on, let's talk through it."

Sam coaxed him back to the chair and Dean sighed, rubbing his forehead before launching into the story of the phone call between him and Elena in which he overhead her being taken.

* * *

Elena wasn't surprised when she woke up bound to the dental chair again. Her eyes blinked against the fluorescent lights of the room before a face swam into her vision.

"Nice of you to join us, Elena." his smiling face spoke.

She groaned, letting her head fall back as she felt soreness filling every muscle in her body.

"You look tired, do you need a pick me up?"

"Nope, no I'm good. Your energy shots are… a bit too much for me." Elena said, forcing her eyes open and her head upright.

"Are you sure? I'm willing to share." He said, gesturing to the syringe filled with clear liquid.

"I don't want your fucking adrenaline." She shot at him, glaring him down.

He smiled wider before nodding at the other man in the room who was wearing scrubs. The man picked up the needle and she began struggling against her binds. It wasn't enough and Elena screamed when the needle stabbed straight into her heart that began pumping the adrenaline through her veins. Suddenly her body was completely awake and she jerked in the binds around her wrists and ankles.

"That's better." The man said, pulling off his suit jacket and pushing his shirt sleeves up. "Now yesterday we made a breakthrough. Do you remember that, Elena?"

She squeezed her eyes shut against the onslaught of memories but she couldn't keep them out.

"Oh yes. After two weeks of pain and torture and digging, I finally broke into your stubborn little mind. I will say, it was impressive how long you held out. I mean, you are a very special young woman. No one else would last a day against me much less two weeks."

"Go to hell, Dick." She spat at him, glaring daggers in his direction.

"Now that's not nice, Elena. You know if I went to hell, I'd just eat everything there and end up all by myself." Dick Roman said, picking up another needle with the black serum in it.

"I thought you said you were done once you broke into my mind." She snapped, panic building in her at the familiar sight of the serum that burned through her veins when he injected it into her.

Her mind went back to the first day and she clenched her fists.

"_Let me go you asshole!" she screamed, struggling against the chair as he approached her with the needle._

"_Now this… oh yes you've seen this before. Or at least you've had it injected into you before. Veritas was quite the genius and, well when you killed her and sent her to Purgatory she was happy to share with anyone who would listen about the Winchesters' little guardian and her mixture that put you down. Holy oil… I never would have guessed it. Of course, I've changed it a little to help me along with breaking you down into a quivering little mess. This is going to be fun." He said, descending on her as she screamed._

"Oh no, I never said breaking into your mind was my ultimate goal. That was the easy part. Now comes the hard part but don't worry, it's much more fun. For me at least. See now I get to manipulate your mind. I get to do whatever I want to every little piece of what makes you who you are and I get to mold you into the person that I want to be. Because the way I see it, the demons got a chance, the angels got a chance, even Eve got to manipulate you a little bit, so now it's my turn. And trust me when I say, my way is the best way. All those angels and demons and monsters could learn a thing or two from me, that is… if I don't kill them all first." Dick explained.

Elena stared at him in horror, her eyes wide.

"What the hell are you talking about? You can't mold me into who you want to be. It doesn't work like that." she said.

"Oh but it does. Call it… Leviathan brainwashing. Now the bad thing about brainwashing is that no matter how powerful I am, it's never really permanent if someone else can get a hold of you and get into your head to fix it. So I'm going to do my best to make sure that you will never trust anyone enough to let them into your mind."

Elena jerked away from him, tears burning her eyes as she felt her heart pounding with fear over what he was threatening to do.

"Trust me, Elena, you'll feel like a brand new person by the time I'm done with you. You're going to love it. And the good thing about it all is that after all this work, I'm going to have my own personal assassin." Dick said, sticking the needle in her arm and injecting the liquid as she whimpered.

"What do you mean, assassin?" she hissed.

Dick looked up into her eyes.

"Do you think I'm doing this all for kicks? No, Elena. There's a deeper plan. If I can't get at the Winchesters, why not send someone who can? Someone I know will do exactly what I want them to? See, I'm going to bend your mind to my will and then I'm going to send you out to kill Sam and Dean Winchester along with anyone else who has ever helped them."

Dick grinned at her as she let out a sob and shook her head.

"No, no!" she screamed as his hands moved to either side of her head and she felt him breaking into her thoughts once again. "No!"

The last thing she heard before she blacked out was laughing.

* * *

**There you go! Review please and let me know what you think!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own TVD or Supernatural**

**Thanks to Nyssandria, RHatch89, SwanQueen4055, JMHUW, DrawingMyHeartOut, MaddAlice, Dean Winchester Rocks, and the guest for reviewing!**

* * *

"You've got to be kidding me." Dean said when the person on the other end of the phone told him where they were.

"I'm sorry, Dean. We just all needed a break from Mystic Falls. You can come meet us here and we can try to figure out what to do to find Elena." Caroline said sympathetically.

To her credit, she did sound as wrecked about Elena's disappearance as he did. They'd been working on finding her since she was first kidnapped and they found out about it, even when Dean couldn't remember that she was taken by the Leviathan. So far they had no luck. Bonnie suggested trying to summon Gabriel or Michael but Dean immediately dismissed it, saying that if the angels wanted to help, they would have already done so and that if he saw them, he would rather kill them than allow them to help since they let her be taken in the first place.

"We'll come there." Dean finally sighed, rubbing his forehead as Sam climbed into the Impala.

"Thanks, Dean. You know we want to help. Getting Elena back is our priority but this trip has been planned for a year." Caroline said apologetically.

"Yeah I understand. Elena wouldn't have wanted you to cancel. She would have been pissed if you did, actually." He said.

"We'll see you here soon?" the blonde vampire said.

"Yep, see you soon." Dean said before hanging up.

"What's going on?" Sam asked, handing him food.

Dean glanced over at him.

"We're going to Vegas."

* * *

**Four Days Later – Las Vegas, Nevada**

Dean sighed as he sat at the table by himself. He heard heels clicking and turned to see a scantily-clad woman walking up to him. She set a replacement beer on the table and grinned at him, tossing her short blonde hair over her shoulder. She was quite attractive but Dean immediately decided her skin was too pale, her hair was too light, her eyes were too blue and she was too tall. In other words, she was completely the opposite of Elena. She shot him a flirtatious grin and he smiled back politely, knowing that before he met Elena, he would be all over her.

"I'm not going to be great company." He said before she could begin flirting.

"I know, I was sent over here by your friend." She said, nodding past him.

Dean turned to see Damon sitting with Alaric and Stefan, both of whom looked exasperated as the dark-haired vampire received a lap dance. Damon noticed Dean looking at him and winked, giving him a sly grin. Dean sighed and shook his head, turning back to the waitress.

"That's not my friend. That's a dick who loves screwing with me." he said.

"He didn't send me to give you a lap dance. He paid me one-hundred dollars to talk to you because he said you won't talk to anyone else." the woman said, slipping into the seat across from him.

"I'm gonna kill him." Dean said, shaking his head.

She laughed and set her tray down on the table.

"So, do you want to tell me your life story?" she asked, leaning forward with interest.

Dean stared at her for a moment.

"How about you tell me yours? Why are you in Las Vegas other than… working at a strip club?" he asked, gesturing around since the last thing he wanted to do was talk about himself.

"Okay, you won't believe it. People think I just say it to get a bigger tip." She said, leaning back.

"Try me." Dean challenged her.

"Fine. I'm in grad school."

Dean raised his eyebrows slightly and she laughed.

"See? Okay? There's a look." he laughed as well. "Okay? Stop."

"No, this is my I dig smart chicks look. Now, if they, uh, if they wore that, I... I wouldn't have dropped out of school."

It was her turn to raise her eyebrows.

"Okay you're trying to hard to compliment me which means you're really not interested. I'm just fine with that but I'm curious. So, what's your deal?"

"My deal?" Dean asked before taking a sip of his beer.

"Yeah, okay. You came in here looking like somebody shot your puppy." The waitress said.

Dean sighed, shaking his head.

"All right… forgetting the obvious relationship woes that you're already aware exist… uh, here's the deal. I have this friend. He's got this younger brother. Right? Cannon's a little loose. You know, his reactor blew a while back. It's not good. Um... my friend… he's, uh... he's kind of been sitting, waiting to see if he goes guano again."

"And I assume shit just hit the fan?" she asked.

"Well, that's the thing. It didn't. The kid's all reasonable now, considering he's crazy. Well, he's… I mean, he's not crazy. He… he's starting to seem like things might be getting a little better." Dean explained.

"Well, that's a good thing, right?" the waitress said, looking confused.

"It's a freakin' miracle. Except... when it happens during their, uh... their trip to Vegas when they're supposed to be finding... someone… and he goes off on some granola-munching hike in the desert by himself." Dean said with a hint of venom in his voice.

"Well, maybe he just needs some time alone." She shrugged.

"Yeah." He sighed.

"We all need to face ourselves sometime."

"Maybe he does." Dean agreed as his phone beeped.

"Wasn't talking about him." The waitress said.

He looked up at her with surprise as she stared back with understanding in her eyes.

"Excuse me."

He read the message on his phone quickly. It was from Sam which made him feel a little bit of relief.

**348 Twain Ave**

**WEAR FED SUIT!**

"Speak of the devil." Dean muttered. "He's four blocks away?"

"See? Baby bro needs you after all." The waitress said with a grin, standing up and pressing a kiss to his cheek before walking off.

Dean watched her go before gathering his stuff. He went to the other three men, shooting Damon a glare before letting them know that he was going to find Sam.

* * *

Dean walked down the hallway with uncertainty, wondering why exactly he was in one of the cheesy wedding chapels that littered the strip in Vegas. A light flickered above him and he flinched before drawing his gun. He moved towards the double doors and held the firearm up at the ready as he heard muffled voices behind it. Suddenly the doors opened to reveal Sam standing there in his own suit. A pink flower was pinned on his lapel. He jumped slightly before pushing his gun down.

"Dean. It's okay. You won't need that. Come on."

He put his hand on Dean's shoulder and led him into the chapel. They passed a woman and man that were sitting in two chairs, both reading. Dean looked with a furrowed brow when they reached the front of the room.

"I thought you were out, uh, becoming one with the land or some crap." He said quietly.

"You got to… come here."

Sam moved into position and Dean stared at him with confusion.

"All right. Now..."

"Hi." Dean nodded at the man and woman when they glanced up at them.

Sam pinned a pink carnation that matched his to Dean's lapel.

"What is this?" he demanded.

"Uh, apparently, uh, pink is for loyalty." Sam informed him.

"All right, so, what's the pretext? What are we… uh, wedding crashers, huh? We lookin' for some kind of siren or what?"

"No. Nothing like that. All right, um... So, a little sudden. But life is short, so I'll keep this shorter."

That was when Dean noticed that his brother looked off as he placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm in love. And I'm getting married." He said, grinning.

Dean stared at him for a full minute, incomprehension clear on his face.

"Say something, like, uh, like, congratulations, for example." Sam urged him.

"Wh-wh-what?" Dean stammered.

Suddenly the _Bridal Chorus _began playing and they both turned to see a woman in a poofy wedding dress and veil walking down the aisle towards them, her bouquet matching their lapel flowers.

"What the hell?" Dean said in a low voice, his mind unable to reconcile what was going on.

She stopped in front of them and Sam grinned over at him before lifting her veil over her head. Her face was revealed, a thrilled smile on her face.

"Becky?" Dean said, shocked.

"Dean. I'm so glad you're here." She said, grinning up at him.

* * *

Dean looked down at them, the rings on their fingers giving him creepy shivers as they sat together looking thrilled.

"Shouldn't she ask for my permission or something?" he said, fighting the urge to pace in front of them.

"Y-you want her to ask for my hand?" Sam said, raising his eyebrows at him.

"How in the… how did this happen?" Dean sighed.

"Short version? We… we met. We ate and… and talked and fell in love. And, you know, here we are." Sam explained.

"Yeah, I-I guess I'm all caught up. That's… okay." Dean nodded before stopping and shaking his head. "You know what? Ignoring everything, have you forgotten the average life-span of your hookups?"

"Yeah, but…" Sam began.

"But if anyone knows that, it's me." Becky interrupted. "I mean, I read every book. So, open eyes, you know? Open eyes."

She took Sam's hand with a lovesick look and he returned it, grinning at her.

"I'm gonna be sick." Dean said, his hand over his stomach.

"Dean, look, it's simple. If-if something good's happening, I-I got to jump on it… now, today, uh, period. You know that much with what's happened with Elena. You would have never forgiven yourself if you hadn't taken the chance with her and I had to do the same with Becky."

Dean gave him a glare and Sam quieted, knowing that the Elena subject wasn't okay to bring up.

"Okay, Dead Poets Society. Fine." Dean glanced at Becky.

"No offense. Did you make sure she's even really…"

"Salt, holy water, everything. See?" Becky held out her arm that held a cut. "Not a monster. Just the right girl for your brother."

"Ah." Dean said, nodding with an uncomfortable grimace.

"That's it." she squeezed Sam's hand as a man walked up and handed a black folder with a bill inside to Sam and Becky.

"The bill." He said.

"I got it." Becky said, snatching it away and grabbing her clutch purse. "You two do your brother thing."

"Um, do you take traveler's checks?" they heard her say as she walked off.

Dean stood there for several moments, his mind processing through all of the information that was just thrown at him.

"Really?!" he finally demanded, throwing his fists into the air as he glared down at Sam. "Superfan ninety-nine?!"

"Dean, look. Honest to God, I-I had the exact same opinion of her as you do. But when we got past the whole book thing, I found out t-that she's great and I was the dick." Sam assured him.

"Yeah, you know, speaking of the whole, uh, book thing... Becky randomly shows up while we're in Vegas?" Dean questioned.

"Okay, um, what are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying maybe she knew you were gonna be here." Dean suggested.

"Dean, you're paranoid." Sam sighed.

"And you're in love?! It's been four days, man!" he exclaimed.

"You know what, Dean? You know what? Um, how about this?" Sam stood with a sigh. "Becky and I are gonna go up to her place in Delaware. Um, why don't you try and wrap your dome around this, get a little supportive, then give us a call and we'll go back to figuring out what to do with Elena."

Sam clapped him on the shoulder and turned to leave.

"Wait, did you tell her about Elena?" Dean hissed.

"She's my wife now, Dean. I tell her everything." Sam said, turning to walk off and leaving him alone in the chapel.

"First official Tweet as Mrs. Becky Rosen-Winchester!" Dean heard Becky exclaim as they walked out and she typed away on her phone.

* * *

Dean really had no idea what to say to the others when they gathered to hear what happened.

"Wait wait… Sam got… married?" Jeremy questioned.

"Yeah." Dean said, looking traumatized by everything that just happened. "I don't want to… I know that Elena is the priority but there's something fishy about this that I can't put my finger on."

"We'll pick up the search for Elena. The Originals are out trying to see if anyone knows what's going on and Bonnie's always doing location spells just in case they drop their defenses." Caroline assured him.

"They're not going to." Dean sighed, sitting down and burying his head in his hands.

"Don't give up hope, Dean. We could find her." Bonnie said softly, reaching out to rub Dean's shoulder.

* * *

"Bobby." Dean sighed as he drove out of Vegas towards Delaware. "Hey, I know you're, uh, beard-deep in that Oregon nest. I'm headed to Delaware to do a little snoopin' around. Sam is there with his wife. That's right. You heard me. His wife. Call me."

* * *

Sam pulled up to the restaurant, looking up at it with confusion.

"I thought we just ate."

"Quick stop." Becky said with a grin before jumping out of the car.

As she walked in and approached the registration desk, she recognized the woman standing behind it as Jocelyn Caruso, the head cheerleader at her high school that made her life hell.

"Well, is that my fault? I told you we had tickets 11 times." The taller woman hissed into the phone.

"Hi, Jocelyn." Becky said, grinning up at the woman.

"Let me call you back. Just get a sitter. It's not calculus." Jocelyn snapped before hanging up and looking Becky up and down. "Yes. Can I help you?"

"It's Becky. Becky Rosen." She said.

"Ohh! Yechie Becky." The former cheerleader remembered, a scornful smile on her face.

"Ha. Long time ago." Becky said, her smile fading slightly.

"Yechie Becky! Oh! Well, you look just the same, don't you?" Jocelyn crossed her arms and raised her eyebrow.

"I'm here to RSVP for the reunion, if it's not too late." Becky said, changing the subject.

"No, no, there is always room for one more." Jocelyn said tauntingly, reaching down to retrieve the list.

"Actually..."

Jocelyn's eyes widened as Sam stepped up behind Becky and put his hands on her shoulders.

"It's Rosen-Winchester. So mark me down plus one." Becky said triumphantly.

Jocelyn let out a sharp breath before holding the sign up sheet out to them. As they exited the restaurant, Becky typed away on her phone with a triumphant expression.

"Jocelyn Caruso roasted."

When she looked up, she immediately saw someone she recognized and squealed, jumping up and down.

"Hi, Guy!" she exclaimed as she ran over.

Sam followed her as she hugged her friend.

"You're back! How was Vegas?" Guy asked, grinning back at her.

"It was awesome!" Becky said, holding up her hand to show off her ring.

"Really? Really?" Guy said, surprised.

"Guy, meet my husband, Sam." she said as he came up behind her.

Guy hesitated, glancing at Sam with surprise.

"Hey. It's an honor to meet you, Sam." he said, reaching out his hand.

"Thanks. You too." Sam said with a smile, shaking his hand.

"Guy's a really good friend. We met in the erotic horror section at the novel hovel." Becky claimed.

"Oh, my God, Becky. Come on! TMI! Poor guy's just met me." Guy said, shaking his head.

"No, it's okay. Nice to meet you. Look, any friend of Becky's..." Sam said with a friendly look.

"Anyway, I should, uh, get back to it, or this party's not gonna happen, right?" Guy said, holding up the bag of party decorations.

"Sure." Sam nodded and he moved past them towards the restaurant.

"Guy's an event planner. Reunion season is very busy for him." Becky explained as they walked towards the car. "Hold on one sec?"

She ran over to Guy once Sam nodded and grabbed his arm.

"One more thing. You get my message?" she whispered.

"Of course. I thought you'd never ask. Give me a hug." Guy urged her.

As she did so, he handed her a vial that she shoved in her purse.

"I swear, if everyone had a Wiccan in their pocket, the world would be a happier place." Becky said, grinning at him.

"It is nothing. Blessed be, sweetie." Guy said, waving as she walked off.

* * *

Dean arrived in the town and, when he saw Sam driving down the road with Becky looking happy as he could be, he decided that a drink was desperately needed. He went to the first bar he found and sat down, ordering a drink. After several minutes of drinking, he noticed a newspaper with a front cover article that he was trained to notice automatically.

**Truck kills pedestrian in freak accident. Victim a recent lottery winner.**

Dean sighed, picking up his drink and finishing it off before throwing bills onto the bar and walking off.

* * *

Sam was sitting at the table waiting to eat their candlelit dinner until Becky came in. When she did, she was wearing a black and white negligee dress.

"Wow. Y-you look n-nice." Sam stuttered,

"Thanks! I was, you know... saving it." Becky said, rushing to the table with a bright-eyed look and sitting down.

She lifted her champagne glass in a toast.

"To us."

Sam grabbed his and raised it.

"To us."

Before he could drink, he winced and held his hand to his head in pain as he groaned.

"Sam? Are you okay?" Becky asked with wide eyes, leaning forward.

He set his glass down and bent over, clutching at his head with both hands.

"Sammy, honey, what's wrong?"

He looked up, staring at her with confusion.

"Becky? W-why am I... What am I doing here?" he asked.

Her eyes widened more and she jumped up, hurrying to sit in his lap. She kissed him and he grunted in pain, pulling away and staring at her with alarm. She quickly turned, pouring the liquid in the vial into his champagne glass before holding it to Sam's mouth. He let out a surprised noise but was forced to drink a few gulps before she pulled it away.

"We're celebrating, dear. Remember?" Becky urged him, hoping it would work quickly.

"Uh... yeah, yeah, of course. To us." Sam nodded as she climbed off of his lap and sat in her chair.

"Feeling better, honey?" she asked.

"Now that I'm with you." Sam nodded, smiling and drinking more out of his champagne.

Becky smiled nervously and drank her champagne as quickly as she could.

* * *

Dean rang the doorbell and steeled himself when it opened to reveal Sam. He held out the gift he was holding, the box with a big red ribbon.

"Me being supportive. Congratulations to you and the missus." He said, pasting a fake smile on his face.

"Thanks." Sam said with uncertainty as he took the box.

"It's a waffle iron. Nonstick. Yeah, you just, uh..."

Dean mimed closing the iron and turning a dial.

"I actually don't know how to use it. Are we good?" Dean asked.

Sam shrugged and smiled briefly.

"Good, cause I'm sniffing a case in this town. The score is... guy wins Powerball, gets squished by a truck. Second guy went from the bench to the Majors. Oh, and one week later, his face was the catcher's mitt, huh?" Dean said as he walkd into the apartment.

Sam gave him a sympathetic look before walking through a wide door to reveal a layout of newspaper clippings and maps on the wall.

"Our first thought was crossroads demons, but there's that ten-year time frame on collecting souls." Becky said from where she was standing in front of the wall that held the sign, **Sam and Becky's Investigation**. "Then there's cursed object, like in Bad Day at Black Rock, but we haven't been able to connect the vics yet." She continued.

"You're working this case... together?" Dea demanded.

"Yeah. I know. Right? I mean, I guess all those Chuck Shurley books paid off." Sam said, grinning.

Dean's fake tolerance dropped and he glared at Becky.

"All right, listen, Cookie, I don't know what kind of mojo you're working, but, believe me, I will find out." he growled, pointing at her.

Becky looked at Sam with disbelief.

"Dean, that's... my wife you're talking to." He said.

"You're not even acting like yourself, Sam!" Dean snapped.

"How am I not?" Sam questioned, furrowing his brow.

"You married Becky Rosen!"

"What are you saying? I'm a witch? Or maybe I'm a siren. Ever occur to you we're just… I don't know… happy?" Becky said, her hands on her hips.

Dean sighed, letting his head fall back. If only Elena were there, she would kick Becky's ass into admitting what she'd done to his brother.

"Come on, Sam! Guy wins the lotto, guy hits the bigs. All right, obviously, uh, people's dreams are coming true in this town. Don't you think this is a little bit of a coincidence?" he asked, gesturing between them.

"You know what, Dean? What Becky and I have is real. And if you can't accept that, that's your problem, not ours." Sam sighed.

"Or maybe she's part of it. Because for whatever reason, you're her dream. If you really do care about her, I'd be worried. Because people who do get their little fantasies or whatever seem to end up dead pretty quick." Dean reminded them.

"You know, I went after her, Dean. Maybe that's what's bugging you… that I'm moving on with my life when you can't because Elena is gone. I mean, you took care of me, and that's great. But I don't need you anymore." Sam said.

Dean scoffed, glaring between them before turning to leave the apartment.

* * *

"I don't want another hunter, Bobby. Why can't you do it?" he complained as he walked up to the motel room.

"I can't, you idjit. I'm halfway across the country helping Elena's Mystic Falls bunch try to find your girl." Bobby replied.

"Ugh! Fine. What's his name?" Dean sighed, falling onto the bed.

* * *

Becky was sitting on the edge of the bed drawing hearts in her journal on a page which read, "Sam loves Becky" over and over again. She raised her face to the pages inhaling deeply while unknowingly smudging red ink on her nose.

"Hey. Uh..."

Becky closed the journal and stood when Sam walked in holding a newspaper. She tossed the journal on the bed and smiled at him. He smiled back, walking over to her and wetting his thumb before rubbing the ink off of her nose.

"I got you a present."

He pulled two press ID's out and presented them to her.

"His and hers fake IDs? Oh!" she exclaimed, taking them with a grin.

They sat down on the bed and Sam handed her the newspaper.

"Here. Check this out."

"Junior salesman leapfrogs to CEO at Mutual Freedom Insurance. You think the CEO is a lead?" she read off, turning to him.

"Uh, Becky?"

He was reading the journal with wide eyes.

"This is..." she stared at him fearfully when he turned to her. "… beautiful."

He closed the journal and held it to his chest.

"So, what do you think about the CEO?"

"Let's go pretext him!" Becky exclaimed, bouncing up and down.

* * *

Dean walked through the restaurant glancing around to see where the hunter was that Bobby sent him. He began to walk up to a buff looking man but a woman sat with him and leaned in kissing him.

"Hey. You Dean?"

He turned to see a wiry-framed man sitting at a table slurping a milkshake.

"Hmm. I thought you'd be taller." Garth said.

Dean gave him a strange look and sat opposite him, wondering what the hell Bobby got him into.

"I assume Bobby filled you in on the road." He said gruffly.

"He told me two things. One, he's tangling with a major-league nest up in Oregon territory. Numero dos, he said you'd be all, uh, surly and premenstrual working with me. But, hey, man, sticks and stones." Garth shrugged.

Dean put the newspaper down on the table.

"Think I found a case. Check the headline." He urged the other hunter, eyeing him doubtfully.

"First things first."

Dean furrowed his brow as Garth flipped through the newspaper. When he found what he was looking for, he read it for a few moments and then laughed.

"Oh, Marmaduke, you're crazy!" he exclaimed as Dean rolled his eyes exasperatingly.

* * *

Dean and Garth were sitting on a sofa in front of the receptionist's desk as the CEO's wife hovered over the poor assistant with a glare.

"Are you trying to humiliate me? It's Marsha with an s-h-a, not a c-i-a." she snapped before turning to walk away.

Dean straightened up when he saw Becky and Sam walking out of the office.

"Thanks again." Sam called to the still cowering secretary.

"Hey, is that your…" Garth began.

"Yes." Dean snapped.

"Awkward." The other hunter commented as Dean stood and walked to Sam and Becky.

"Hi." He sighed.

Becky glared at him before breezing past him, leaving the brothers alone.

"Okay. So..." Dean said, gesturing to office.

"So, uh, no point in going in. Guy's clean." Sam interrupted him.

"You sure?" Dean asked, looking doubtful.

"Yeah. Positive. Becky grilled him like a pro. She's a real natural." Sam assured him.

"Huh." Dean commented, even more doubt filling him.

"What's with the scrawny guy?" Sam asked, noticing Garth.

"Temp." Dean sighed.

Sam nodded before noticing Becky gesturing to him. He told Dean goodbye and slipped past him as the older Winchester rolled his eyes.

* * *

"Throw a rock, hit a reporter these days, eh?" the CEO said, smiling nervously at them.

"Well, your story's a big deal over at the, uh, the Actuarial Insider." Dean said, repeating the ridiculous name that Garth made up.

"Go ahead. Shoot." The man said, leaning back.

"All right. Uh... how'd you get the gig?" Dean asked.

"Board came to me, asked. Said yes." He shrugged.

"Just out of the blue?" he questioned.

"Pretty much." he nodded.

"Huh. And, uh, any idea how the board landed on you over your supervisors?" Dean said.

"Um, they didn't say."

"Could you tell us what specifically excited the board about your actual qualifications?" Dean wondered, leaning forward.

The CEO glanced between them suspiciously at the third degree.

"Say, fellas, what's with the third degree?" he asked.

"Oh, uh, no offense. We were just wondering if you got here by nefarious means." Garth spoke up.

"Whoa! Garth!" Dean said, smiling as he attempted to cover up his words.

"Oh. Uh, I-I didn't mean, of course, uh, corporate backstabbing… I'm sorry." Garth said, correcting himself. "I meant more like, uh, you know, black magic or hoodoo."

Dean started laughing.

"Oh! He jokes. He's a… he's a jokester. Let's, uh, rewind. Why don't, uh, why don't you tell us what it felt like when your big dream came true?" Dean asked.

"Look, on the record, it's great." The CEO sighed.

"Off the record?" Dean said, sensing something strange.

"It's not my big dream." he admitted.

"Wait. You didn't want this job?" Garth questioned.

"Hell, no. I'm a sales guy. I was good in sales." He said, suddenly looking panicked.

Marsha the yelling wife appeared in the doorway.

"Your secretary's an idiot. I'll be at the printers this afternoon." She snapped.

"All right, dear. See you at dinner." The man said, smiling up at her while covering up the panic.

"Just have the idiot make a reservation. Here's a tip… remind her she works for the CEO. One more screw-up, she's fired." Marsha said icily before turning to walk out.

"Your, uh, wife seems pretty stoked on the promotion, don't she?" Dean said once she was gone.

"Honestly, I've never seen her happier. I have no idea how I'm gonna tell her I have to resign. The news is just gonna…"

"Kill her?" Garth interrupted as they both understood exactly what happened.

* * *

They hurried out to catch up with Marsha to question her.

"Mrs. Burrows? Hi." Dean said, smiling as he caught her arm before she exited the building.

"Can I help you?" Marsha asked, glancing between him and Garth.

"Yes, we're, uh, we're doing a story on your husband's promotion. Wanted to ask you a few questions." he said.

She smiled, looking thrilled.

"I'm sorry. I can't today. If you schedule it with his girl..."

She turned to leave and Dean decided to drop all pretense, grabbing her shoulder to stop her.

"Okay, you know what? I'm trying to save you from a really bad accident." He hissed.

"Are you threatening me?" she demanded, her eyes widening.

"No." he yanked his hand away with narrowed eyes. "No, I-I-I'm pointing out a pattern. Why do people keep thinking I'm threatening them?"

"Because it sounded exactly like a threat, dude." Garth said, frowning at him.

Dean rolled his eyes.

"Look, for your own good, what did you do to get him promoted?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about. Now leave me alone. Or do I have to call security?" Marsha demanded.

Dean backed away, allowing her to leave.

* * *

"No, no, no, something's not adding up." Sam said as he studied the wall.

"I'm sure we'll get a break." Becky said, typing out a twitter update on her phone. "As soon as we're done working, romantic honeymoon getaway."

Sam suddenly groaned in pain and bent over double, holding his hands to his head. Becky panicked and ran to her purse. When she opened it she noticed, with horror, that the rest of the liquid leaked out of the vial leaving her with none.

"Oh crap." She muttered.

* * *

"Bring the damn car around. I'm not walking five blocks in my heels." Marsha hissed into the phone as she walked through the lobby of the building.

She stopped just under the large light fixture as she talked to her driver. She didn't notice that the chandelier was falling until she heard the sound of it whooshing through the air. She glanced up and screamed as it hurtled towards her. Suddenly her body was knocked out of the way and both she and Dean fell to the floor.

"You okay?" he asked once the sound of the crash and the panicked screams cut off.

"How did you know?" Marsha breathed as he helped her up.

"Cause you're not the first. Come on." Dean pulled her towards Garth.

"You want to tell us what's up here?" the wiry hunter asked.

"I was having lunch with friends. This guy heard me bitching. Next thing I know, he's making me an offer." She sighed.

"An offer?" Dean questioned.

"Craig's job for my soul." They both gave her wide-eyed looks. "I know. Hilarious. I mean, what have I got to lose?"

"Well, there's your soul. What kind of demon deal is this? Timeline's whack." Garth whispered to Dean.

"What are you talking about? Demon?" Marsha said as she overhead him.

"Let me back up here. You made a deal with a demon in exchange for your everlasting. Except those are ten-year contracts. Why's the bill coming due so fast?" Garth wondered.

"I don't know, but I got a bad feeling about who's next. We got to find Sam, pronto." Dean said, knowing that Becky's time was up soon.

"All right, all right, all right. Uh, here's the plan. I drop this lady at my cousin's. He'll stop anything trying to get her. We, uh, find Sam, hopefully fix this, everybody's home in time for America's Got Talent. Now, you… you'll be living with a tri-racial paraplegic sniper until this all blows over, okay?" Garth said.

Marsha gave him a look before they all walked out of the building.

* * *

"Guy, where are you? We need to meet up, fast!" Becky hissed into her phone as Sam stumbled around behind her. "I'm losing Sam."

She cut off the voicemail and whirled around.

"Becky... w-what's… what's happening?" Sam groaned.

"Don't you remember? We're married." Becky said, smiling hopefully.

"Oh, g…" Sam stared at her with wide eyes. "I'm calling Dean."

He turned to find his phone and Becky hit him over the head with the waffle iron, causing him to fall to the ground unconscious. When he woke up, he was in an entirely different house and tied to a bed.

"Sam, do you feel concussion-y? How many fingers am I holding up?" Becky ran to him and waved her hand around as she held up three fingers.

"Where am I? What the hell's going on?" Sam demanded, struggling against his binds.

"Sam... just calm down." She sighed.

"Calm down?! You hogtied me t…" Sam suddenly realized something. "Becky, why am I not wearing any pants?"

"They're very constricting." Becky said, her eyes wide.

Sam let out a groan and let his head fall back.

"Don't worry. I didn't do anything weird. I was helping." She assured him.

"Let me go. Now!" he snapped.

"Are you thirsty? Or do you need a bottle... to, you know, tinkle? It's okay if you do. I can help." Becky offered.

Sam glared up at her as her laptop beeped.

"Finally!"

She hurried to her computer in the living room of the cabin.

"Wait. What? Wait. Becky? Becky. Hey, hey, don't! Don't! Becky!" Sam pleaded.

Guy's face appeared on the screen.

"I got your messages. Problem?" he asked with a smile.

"Big problem. I'm at my parents' cabin. I've got Sam tied to a bed. I'm out of elixir. I need a refill, okay? This isn't the honeymoon I had in mind. Well, some of it is, but not in this context. And is it just me, or is this stuff wearing off faster and faster?" Becky growled.

"Becky...breathe." Guy instructed.

"Do you know we haven't even consummated our marriage? We were taking it slow 'cause true love is forever, but everything just feels weird now." Becky said with a grimace.

"All right. Meet me in an hour." Guy said, reassurance in his tone.

Becky ended the video call and turned to walk back into the bedroom.

"So you dosed me with a love potion." Sam snapped.

"How…" Becky began, confused.

"Thin walls." He answered.

"Look... yes, I used a social lubricant to…"

"You roofied me!" Sam interrupted.

"A roofie? I'd never. We had a great time together. You were happy." Becky said, smiling at him.

"Oh, yeah." He tugged at the ropes around his wrists. "I'm thrilled."

Becky sighed, moving to pick up her purse.

"I have to go."

"You know your pal Guy is the one icing all those people, right?" Sam informed her.

"No, he's not." She said, frowning.

"Oh, so he's not a witch?" he demanded.

"No. He's just a Wiccan. Wiccans are good, like Glinda of Oz." Becky shrugged.

"You're not this stupid, Becky." Sam said confidently.

"Whatever is killing people... it's something else." Becky said, convinced of this.

"It's never something else. When are there ever two crazy things in town at the same time? Guy's the creep, and you're on his list." Sam tried to make her see that what he was saying was true.

"No. He's my friend." She argued.

"No, he's your dealer. Look, I don't know how much he's charging you for that Spanish Fly…"

"Nothing! He gives it to me." Becky said. "And he said it wouldn't even work unless you already loved me, deep down. It just activates it."

Sam furrowed his brow.

"So you think I love you?" he demanded.

"Deep, deep down?" she said in a small voice.

"Then untie me." he said pleadingly.

Becky hesitated before stuffing a handkerchief in his mouth.

"No. No!" he yelled, muffled.

"You're still working through your emotions." She said.

"Becky!"

"I love you, too!" she waved a him and ran off.

* * *

"Guy." Becky sighed as she hurried into the restaurant.

The man in question was on a ladder arranging decorations.

"Why don't you take a seat?" he suggested.

They both sat at a table and he waved a bottle of alcohol at her but she shook her head, looking discouraged.

"Tough day?" she didn't answer and Guy sighed. "Okay. We can cut right to it if you like."

He took out a vial of elixir and slid it across the table. Becky reached for it but he pulled it back.

"Let's talk price." Guy said.

"What?" she asked, astonished.

"Well, we're a little past the freebie stage, don't you think?" he said, smirking at her.

"But I thought we were besties." She said in a small voice.

"Ohh, honey. That is so depressingly… Becky. I mean, it's… you're so pathetic, it actually loops back around again to cute." He said, giving her a sad smile.

"Okay. You want me to pay, fine. Do you accept personal checks?" she asked, picking up her purse to dig through as she glared at him.

"No. But I will take your soul."

His eyes suddenly turned red as he grinned at her.

"You're a crossroads demon." Becky realized.

"Bingo, bango!" Guy exclaimed, his eyes returning back to normal. "I love reunions. The desperation! These schlubs will sign on the dotted line for money, power, hair - whatever it takes to impress the nostalgically bangable head cheerleader."

"Sam was right. You killed those people." Becky said, horrified.

"But for legal reasons, let's just say they had... unfortunate accidents." Guy corrected.

"So, what, I hand over my soul, and the next day a piano falls on my head?" Becky demanded.

"No, I'd never do that to you. I promise." The demon assured her.

"I'm not stupid." She said, squinting at him.

"But you are special." He said.

That caused Becky to hesitate in her refusal.

"I am?" she asked with uncertainty.

"Hey. I wasn't thrilled to see your new hubby was Sam freakin Winchester. I mean, if he knew that I was here talking to you, I mean, he'd probably…"

"Gank your ass." Becky finished for him.

"Yes! And I'm very protective of my ass. It's one of my best features. Becky, I'm prepared to offer you a one-time-only deal. Not ten years. Twenty-five. No pianos, guaranteed. Just Sam." Guy offered.

"For my soul." Becky said, nodding.

"And your promise to not breathe a word about this to the Winchesters, and I'll be on my merry way. No one gets a deal like this, Becky. Not kings, not popes. I snap my fingers, and Sam will love you for the rest of your life."

Becky looked down at her hands as she thought about it.

"I think I'll have that drink now." She sighed.

* * *

"Well... this is not how I imagined spending my reunion." Becky sighed as she walked into the bedroom.

Sam cursed at her around the gag in his mouth.

"I was gonna show you off… not that anyone actually knows who you are. Supernatural is not exactly popular, but... you're tall... and nice and... they'd all think I was happy." She said sadly.

Sam muttered something at her with a glare on his face.

"You're mad. I get it. But..." she lied down on the bed and put her head on his chest. "Can we talk?"

"Oh, God." Sam groaned, letting his head fall back.

"I know you don't love me." Becky said.

"Yeah, you got that right." Sam said, his words still muffled.

"I know what I am, okay? I'm a loser. In school, in life. Guess that's why I like you so much." she said.

"What?" he demanded, picking his head up again.

She leaned up on an elbow and looked down at Sam.

"I mean, not that you're a loser, but you had that whole character arc about being a freak, and... I can relate." Becky said quickly.

"Oh, my God." His head fell back again as she sat up on the bed.

"Honestly... the only place people understood me was the message boards. They were grumpy and overly literal, but at least we shared a common passion. And I'll take it, you know? Then I met you guys… the real Sam and Dean. And I started dating Chuck." She rubbed a hand over Sam's chest as she spoke. "And everything was... amazing. But you left, and Chuck dumped me. I think I intimidated him with my vibrant sexuality."

Sam cursed again, wishing to be anywhere but there.

"I just want someone who loves me for me! Is that too much to ask?"

He began ranting and Becky sighed, statching the handkerchief out of his mouth.

"What?" she asked.

"If you want somebody to love you for you, maybe don't drug them." He snapped at her.

"But I want you! And this is the only way!"

She took the vial out of her pocket and sighed.

"Becky. Becky, you're better than this." Sam said pleadingly.

"That's sweet, but... I'm not so sure." She said sadly.

* * *

Guy walked through the restaurant to find Becky sitting at a table nursing a drink.

"Becks! You missed the party." The demon claimed.

"Yeah. Well... weird night." She said miserably.

"So, what are we thinking?" he asked.

She sighed, turning to stand up and face him.

"Okay. I'm in." Becky said.

"You're making the right choice." He assured her.

"I know. So... we seal the deal with a kiss?" she questioned.

"Exactly. Pucker up, sweetheart."

Suddenly she struck a cigarette lighter and dropped it to the ground. Flames shot around and formed a devil's trap that Guy was caught in. Becky stepped back with a glare aimed at him.

"I'm not your sweetheart!"

Guy turned around in time to see Sam, Dean, and Garth walked in. Garth held up a bottle of alcohol.

"Blueberry vodka. The answer to all of life's problems."

Dean rolled his eyes as Becky grinned triumphantly, running to Sam.

"You see that, Sam? I did it just like we said! I am awesome! I…" she shrank away from his hostile look. "I'll be over here."

"Dean Winchester. This is really thrilling. Hey, can I have your autograph?" Guy said, grinning at him.

Dean pulled out a knife.

"Sure. Yeah, I'll, uh, carve it into your spleen." He agreed and Guy sighed. "So, how you running your little scam?"

"Well, how do you mean, Dean?" the demon asked.

"Signing ten-year deals, snuffing 'em that week." Dean said.

"Well, I would never. No. Rules of the road… can't lay a hair on any of my clients." Guy said.

"Right. So how you cheating it?" Dean asked.

"I'm not a cheater. I'm an innovator. It's called a loophole, you moron. Yes, when a person bargains away his soul, he gets a decade, technically. But accidents happen." Guy shrugged.

"So you're arranging accidents and collecting early?" Sam demanded.

"Oh, please. White gloves. I don't get my hands dirty. That's why it's important to have a capable intern." Guy said, grinning behind them.

Sam, Dean, and Garth went flying as another man walked into the room. The other demon walked to Guy, quickly scraping away at the devil's trap with his foot.

"What time did I ask you to be here? What time did I ask you to be here?!" the crossroads demon yelled.

Dean was struggling up when Guy appeared in front of him. Without hesitation, Dean tossed holy water on the demon, who recoiled as he cried out in pain.

"Exorcizamus te, omnis…" the hunter began.

Guy grabbed Dean by the throat and shoved him against the wall. Sam's eyes opened in time to see Guy's intern approaching him.

"Becky... run!" he yelled, stumbling to his feet.

Garth was just getting to his knees when the demon forced his head to smack into a table, knocking him out. Then he made a twisting motion and Sam began choking at the invisible force. Suddenly a knife protruded from his chest and he flashed as Becky watched him fall to the ground, triumphant as she pulled the demon-killing knife out that Dean dropped. Sam ran forward, grabbing the blade from her and tossing it to Dean, who held it against Guy's throat. The demon backed away, releasing him.

"How many deals you got cooking in this town, Madoff?" he demanded.

"Fifteen." Guy answered.

"Yeah, well, call them off, or I'll cut my own loophole in your throat." Dean threatened.

Guy's eyes flickered past him and widened.

"Oh, fuck." He cursed.

"Yeah, you said it." Dean agreed. "You're in a world…"

"Hello, boys." A voice interrupted him.

They all turned to see Crowley standing there.

"Oh, fuck." Dean sighed, moving around Guy and holding the knife against his throat from behind him.

"Sam, mazel tov. Who's the lucky lady?" Crowley said, his eyes flickering between them.

"You're Crowley!" Becky realized, looking thrilled when she should have looked afraid at facing down the King of Hell.

"And you're…" Crowley squinted at her. "Well, I'm sure you have a wonderful personality, dear."

Becky's smile faded as he stepped forward.

"Ah, another step, and I'll Colombian necktie your little friend here." Dean threatened.

"Please, don't let him get off that easy." Crowley commented, confusing Dean.

"Sir, I don't think that you…" Guy began.

"I know exactly what you've been doing. A little birdie named Jackson sold you out, e-mailed all the juicy deets to my suggestion box."

Crowley glanced down at the dead demon on the ground.

"I assume... that's my whistle-blower? Shame. Had a future. Unfortunately, you don't."

"I was just…" Guy tried to explain himself again.

"There's only one rule… make a deal, keep it." Crowley snapped, glaring at him.

"Well, technically, I didn't…"

"There's a reason we don't call our chits in early… consumer confidence. This isn't Wall Street! This is Hell! We have a little something called integrity. This gets out, who'll deal with us? Nobody! Then where are we?" the King of Hell shouted.

"I don't know." Guy sighed.

"That's right. You don't. Because you're a stupid, shortsighted little prat. Now, hand the jackass over. I'll cancel every deal he's made." Crowley offered the Winchesters.

"What are you gonna do with him?" Dean asked with uncertainty.

"Make an example of him. Fair trade, right? We all go our separate ways. No harm done." Crowley offered.

Dean and Sam exchanged looks.

"What, out of the goodness of your heart?" Sam asked.

"Years of demons nipping at your heels, haven't seen one for months. Wonder why?" Crowley questioned.

"We've been a little busy." Dean said, glaring at him.

"Hunting Leviathan… yes, I know. That's why I told my lads to stay clear of you meatheads." The demon said, nodding.

"So, what do you know about…"

"Too much. You met that Dick yet? Smuggest tub of goo since Mussolini. I hate the bastards. Squash 'em all, please. I'll stay clear. Although, the longer they hold your girl, the more they'll piss her off so I'm sure that they'll find themselves on the receiving end of her machete."

Dean glared at him as he wanted to stab him for even mentioning Elena.

"How do you know they have her?" he demanded.

"I make it my business to know. I can't wait until she teaches those big-mouths a lesson." Crowley said.

Dean changed the subject back to the matter at hand.

"Rip up the contracts first."

Crowley smirked, liftng his hand and snapping his fingers.

"Done... and done. Your turn."

"No, no, no, no. Let…" Guy began to plead with Dean but he shoved Guy forward to Crowley.

"Pleasure, gentlemen." Crowley said before disappearing.

At that moment, Garth groaned and woke, scrambling to his feet.

"What'd I miss?" he asked, looking up at them.

* * *

Sam quickly signed the annulment papers before sliding them across the table to Becky. They were in her apartment for the time being. Dean and Garth were standing a few feet away from the table.

"It... it wasn't all bad, right?" Becky sighed, glancing up at him before she signed.

Sam glared back at her and she looked beaten down.

"Okay, y-you did save my life, and for that, thanks." He admitted begrudgingly.

"So, I'll see you again?" Becky asked hopefully.

"Yeah, probably not."

Her face fell again and she signed the papers.

"Becky, look." Sam shook his head. "You're not a loser, okay? You're a good person, a-and you've got... a lot of... e-energy. So, you know, just do your thing, whatever that is, and the right guy will find you."

Becky glanced around and her eyes caught sight of Garth, who began preening and smoothing his hair under her gaze.

"No." Dean said, causing the skinny hunter's eyes to snap to him as he shook his head. "No."

* * *

Sam and Dean were leaning against the trunk of their car as Garth stood by his own vehicle.

"Well, buddy, I got to say, man… you, uh... you don't suck." Dean said, nodding at the other hunter.

He reached out and patted the man on the heart.

"Thank you. That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me. Well..."

He leaned in and enveloped Dean in a hug.

"Oh. Yeah. All right, that's…" Dean patted him on the back. "Thank you."

Garth stepped back and waved goodbye.

"Take care." Dean said before turning to Sam. "Wow."

"Aww, you made a fwiend." Sam said, grinning teasingly.

"Uh-uh." Dean rolled his eyes, moving to get in the car.

"Look, man, uh... When I was all dosed up, I-I said some crap." Sam said, stopping him.

"Oh, you mean, she… she wasn't your soulmate?" Dean asked, smirking.

"Shut up. I mean, I do need you watching my back. Obviously." The younger brother said.

"Yeah, when, uh, crazy groupies attack." Dean nodded.

"You know what I mean." Sam sighed.

""You know, I got to say, man... for a whack-job, you really pulled it together." Dean informed him.

"That's the nicest thing anyone's said to me." Sam said. "Look, don't be too impressed, man. It's still a Denver scramble up here. I just know my way around the plate now."

"I'm just saying. It's stupid to think that you need me around all the time. You're a grown-up." Dean shrugged.

"Right." Sam said.

"You're a hike-in-the-desert, hippie-douche grown-up." Dean muttered.

"Dude, I was camping. You camp." Sam sighed.

"Yeah, whatever. Hippie." Dean repeated as they climbed in the car.

"Where are we headed?" Sam asked.

"Finding Bobby and the Mystic Falls group. We're going to figure out where Elena is." Dean said, convinced that he would not give up on her.

* * *

**Review please!**

**Next chapter, the boys finally meet Dick.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own TVD or Supernatural**

**Thanks to SwanQueen4055, RHatch89, MaddAlice, Nyssandria, DrawingMyHeartOut, JMHUW, Dean Winchester Rocks, and the two guests for reviewing!**

**This has a little time jump for the sake of timeline. I am so sorry it's been so long since I've updated but I had jury duty so I had a lot of my time taken up by that, working, and sleeping.**

* * *

**ONE MONTH LATER**

Her teeth clenched together as her eyes squeezed shut. If she wasn't strapped down into a bed on her stomach, her body would be flailing with pain.

"I almost can't believe it, Elena." she winced when Dick's voice spoke loudly in her ear.

She felt the pinprick of another needle on her spine and she jerked, the feeling of fire spreading through her back as he pushed the altered serum into her bloodstream.

"You are one stubborn little mind I'll give you that. Apparently altering your old memories isn't exactly doing the trick though I have decreased your empathy levels and that will work for me." Dick said, pulling off his latex gloves. "If you're not going to react to the memories you already have, perhaps I should use a few that you don't have."

Elena tried to catch her breath, her heart pounding furiously.

"That's not going to work, Dick. You can't just give me memories and expect my mind to accept them." She choked out, her voice hoarse with hours of screaming.

He gave her days off to recuperate but she barely would before he was torturing her body and delving into her mind once again.

"Oh that's not what I'm going to do." Dick said, sitting in a chair by her head. "You see, this was always the final plan. Mess with your emotions, make you more susceptible. Then throw you the big curveball. The number one trust-breaker for Elena Gilbert. After this, you'll be ours."

She huffed out a short laugh, refusing to open her eyes.

"Fuck you, Roman. I will never be yours no matter what you do."

He sighed, putting a hand on her forehead and tilting it towards her.

"We'll see about that. Now we're going to have to do a little bit of traveling tomorrow so… let's make this quick."

* * *

"Did you strip enough wire?" Sam called as he ran down the stairs of the old broken down house.

"Yes, I stripped enough wire." Dean grumbled, stepping back from the fuse box.

"All right." Sam sighed as he entered the room with jumper cables.

He attached on end to the stripped wires, looking at Dean warily before touching it to the other one. Electricity crackled and there was a few thumps before the electricity flipped on.

"See? Told you." Dean said triumphantly as Sam rolled his eyes.

Minutes later, they were in the kitchen of the abandoned foreclosure looking at newspapers.

"Well, isn't this cozy?" Bobby said, looking around as Sam sat at a roach eaten table.

"Yeah. Well, Motel 6 just ain't leaving the light on anymore." Sam said, shaking his head.

"Well, I'm taking a page out of Frank Devereaux's Bible on this. Everybody's out to get you… paranoia is just plain common sense." The older hunter said.

"Weeks, guys. Weeks." Dean sighed, shaking his head as he turned to them. "We've been living with cold showers, cold Hot Pockets, cold freaking everything. I mean, this is the bottom that we're living in. You guys get that, right?"

"How many big mouths are out there, running card traces, like Chet, or hunting us down God knows what ways? No, now's not the time to be laying our bed rolls out on the grid. Not if we can help it." Bobby reminded him.

Suddenly the lights switched off and Dean sighed, letting his head drop.

"That's just great. This is stupid. Our quality of life is crap. We got Purgatory's least wanted everywhere, and we're on our third 'The World's Screwed' issue in, what, three years? We've steered the bus away from the cliff twice already." He growled as he collapsed onto a couch with a beer in hand.

"Someone's got to do it." Sam said, turning to glance at him.

"What if the bus wants to go over the cliff?" Dean snapped.

They both looked at him in shock.

"You think the world wants to end?" his brother questioned.

"I think that if we didn't take its belt and all its pens away each year that, yeah, the whole enchilada woulda offed itself already." Dean replied.

"Stop trying to wrestle with the big picture, son. You're gonna hurt your head." Bobby grumbled. "So, what's the guff?"

Dean watched as they sat at the table together.

"Well, uh, there've been a rash of sightings all over the southern pine barrens… a strange, fast-moving, human-like creature. Locals even have a name for it." Sam explained, sliding a printout of an internet search over to the older hunter.

"The Jersey Devil? I thought that was just local tall-tale crap." Bobby said, his brow furrowed as he read.

"The area's history of sightings goes back more than two centuries. Some accounts gave it bat wings, others horns, a...a tail. The Jersey Devil is a legendary creature or cryptid said to inhabit the Pine Barrens of Southern New Jersey. The creature is often described as a flying biped with hooves, but there are many variations. To date the most raucous reports of the Jersey Devil was in 1909 where hundreds of people had testified to the sightings. There had been many sightings of the creature since 1909. Recently a farmer in Jersey had reported disturbances and killing of his livestock. And, uh, oh yeah, a horse's head."

"Of course, the sketch looks more like a Chewbacca head." Dean piped up.

"Sounds kind of mixed up." Bobby sighed.

"Yeah, kind of like it should be fighting a Japanese robot." The older Winchester said, shaking his head.

"Well, mixed up or not, it sounds like it might just have a body count." Sam said, passing Bobby a news article.

"Camping high season harshed by human burrito?" Bobby read off the title.

"Yeah. Something hung a camper up in a tree, then ate him alive right through his sleeping bag. His wife hasn't been seen, either. Plus, there have been four other missing persons reported in the last three weeks. State troopers… get this… are saying it's a rogue bear." Sam said, skepticism tainting his voice.

"Yeah, of course, when was the last time you saw a bear string up its own piñata?" Dean scoffed.

"Something's out there in the woods. Hey, we're going honest to goodness wilderness hunting. I haven't used my .30-30 in a while." Bobby said, sounding a little perked up at that.

"Okay, Davey Crockett, well, safari's gonna have to wait till tomorrow and after our suit-and-tie dance. We'll make sure this is not just some backwoods crackhead who likes to roll glampers." Dean informed him.

"What the hell's a glamper?" Bobby said, making a face at the unfamiliar word.

"Sam?" Dean gestured to his brother.

"High-end camper. TV, A.C., Wi-Fi. Back to nature, zero inconvenience." Sam explained.

Bobby grimaced, looking horrified at the thought.

"That's idiotic."

"Yeah. Some people just don't know how to live." Sam said, smirking.

Dean sat up, looking at Sam and Bobby.

"If this thing is eating people, maybe… I don't know... what else do we know that eats people?"

"Dean, the Leviathan… they don't leave anything behind." Bobby said, looking at him with sympathy as he could see the glimmer of hope in his eyes.

"We've gone two months now without a single lead on her, Bobby. If this has anything to do with Leviathan, it could lead us to her." Dean said, looking desperate.

"We'll follow it up, boy. But don't get your hopes up too much. You know how bad it is when it's got nothing to do with the Leviathan." Bobby sighed.

Dean nodded, laying back on the couch and closing his eyes.

* * *

They sat at a table in the Biggerson's restaurant with one of the main rangers in the area. They were dressed in suits and doing their FBI act.

"So, Ranger Evans…" Dean began as the man across from them took a bite of his sandwich.

"Oh, uh, you can call me Rick. Ranger Rick." He said with a grin.

Dean gave him a look.

"Uh, you were the one who found Mitchell Rayburn, correct?" he asked.

The ranger nodded.

"The human burrito." He confirmed, sounding way too thrilled about it.

"State police have it down as a bear attack." Sam said, giving him a strange look too.

Rick laughed.

"Yeah, I read what the state police says. That was no rogue brown." he said, shaking his head.

"Apparently, some others reported seeing something a little, you know, weirder." Dean said, urging him towards the right direction.

"You know, I've been a ranger for twelve years. Tell you the truth, we have no idea what's out there. Big. Lot of trees and whatnot. Tell you this, though. You got to respect Mother Nature. You respect her, or she's gonna string you up, and she'll eat your ass right through the Gore-Tex."

They stared at him, wondering what the hell was wrong with him.

"So you're thinking it's Mother Nature?" Dean questioned.

"See, me and Phil, we've been finding, uh, something's leftovers for weeks… deer remains, badger, missing pets." Rick explained before taking another big bite.

"Who's Phil?" Sam asked.

"Assistant Chief Ranger." Suddenly Rick's forehead creased with concentration. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen Phil in a couple of days. He's supposed to call from whatever station he's checking off."

"But you think maybe your assistant chief ranger might be missing?" Sam said.

"I should probably report that." Rick said, looking dazed.

Dean noticed that Bobby walked into the restaurant in his own Fed suit and he nudged Sam.

"Oh. Excuse us. Well, you, uh... enjoy your lunch... Ranger Rick." Dean said as they slid out of the chairs.

They walked over to Bobby with frowns on their faces as they thought about Rick's behavior.

"So?" Dean asked.

"Well, I took a look at the cadaver… what's left of it. Not a happy camper. Don't have any stats on a Jersey Devil, but the bite radius on the vic's wounds… it's too small for a Leviathan. And he's still got a ventricle and some change, so I doubt we're talking werewolf. And a wendigo don't leave no scraps." Bobby said.

The brothers nodded in sync.

"Hmm. Lunch?" Dean suggested.

"Starving." Bobby sighed.

Dean caught sight of a passing waiter, glancing at his nametag.

"Hey! Uh, Brandon. We grab a booth?" he asked, noting the man's annoyed expression when he turned to glare at Dean.

"Hey, uh, douchewad, a hostess will seat you. Do I look like a freaking hostess?" he snapped.

Dean stared at him with his eyebrows knitted together.

"Do you want to look like a hostess?"

Brandon gave him another glare before turning to walk away. Sam smacked his arm with an amused grin.

"That didn't really make sense, what you... said."

"What was that?" Dean said, turning to them with wide eyes.

"I sure hope we don't get Brandon's section." Bobby said, staring after the rude waiter.

Several minutes later, they were seated. Brandon himself was standing by their table with a tray of food set up next to him.

"Sidewinder soup and salad combo goes to Big Bird." He snapped out, dropping the plate with a clatter in front of Sam, who looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"TDK slammer to Ken Doll." Dean turned to fix a confused and annoyed glare on him.

"And a little heart-smart for creepy uncle." Bobby simply looked taken aback at his words.

"What is your problem?" Dean finally demanded.

"You are my problem!" Brandon shouted, pointing in his face before stomping off.

They stared after him as he disappeared into the kitchen.

"Oh, Brandon's got his flare all up in a bunch." Bobby sighed, poking at his salad.

"Yeah. There goes his 18%." Sam commented.

"Anyway, chief ranger…" Dean said, bringing them back to the matter at hand as he picked up his sandwich. "I don't think he believes in the Jersey Devil."

"Oh, oh, by the way, did he seem a little, uh, stoned to you?" Sam asked.

"Ranger Rick? Yeah. Definitely growing his own on the back forty and smoking all the profits." Dean scoffed, shaking his head.

"He did seem to think that there was something…" Sam said, turning to Bobby as Dean moaned with satisfaction around his sandwich.

"Oh, that is good sandwich." He claimed with his mouth full.

Bobby and Sam both gave him a look, taken aback by his reaction.

"What the hell did you get?" Bobby asked.

Dean turned a card on the table advertising a special to face them.

"New Pepperjack Turducken Slammer… limited time only." He explained.

"Bunch of birds shoved up inside each other. Shouldn't play God like that." Bobby said, shuddering.

"Hey, don't look at me sideways from that… that Chinese chicken geezer salad there, okay? This is awesome. Like the perfect storm of your top-three edible birds." Dean said, taking another big bite.

"All right, anyways, um... the ranger did seem to think there was something out in Wharton Forest." Sam informed Bobby.

"Well, then I'd say it's safari time." Bobby said, thrilled.

"She's big-boned!" a voice yelled behind them.

They turned to see Brandon facing off with his manager.

"Look at her! You're telling me she's not fat?" the rude waiter shouted back.

"Hey." The manager began.

"Up yours, Mike. Shove it right up yours!"

Brandon ripped off his apron and threw it down before leaving the restaurant.

Dean shrugged, turning back to face forward.

"Well, anyway, back to bigger and better things."

Sam and Bobby stared with raised eyebrows as he continued eating his sandwich.

* * *

They walked through the forests, bags thrown over their shoulders and rifles in their hands. Bobby took the lead with Sam and Dean trailing behind him. The older man knelt down beside a bush, pulling out a tuft of hair.

"Couple of bucks. Head-butting over turf probably. Pretty sure the other fella won." He said as the Winchesters looked on.

"I guess I forgot. Before you were a hunter, you were actually a... hunter." Sam commented as they continued on.

"Yeah, well, we shot our dinner when I was a kid." Bobby sighed.

"You used to take us hunting. Remember? Dad had a case, he'd just dump us on you. Shoot, you must have taught us most of the outdoor tracking we know." Dean reminisced.

"Yeah, what I could get to stick. I never could get you little grubs to pull a trigger on a single deer." Bobby grumbled, rolling his eyes.

"You're talking about Bambi, man." Dean said, shaking his head.

"You don't shoot Bambi, jackass." Bobby smirked. "You shoot Bambi's mother."

They both gave him disgusted looks before they noticed a bloody arm hanging from a tree.

"Well, looks like we found Phil." Dean said, grimacing at the unattached limb.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, they all looked around as Ranger Rick pulled up in his vehicle. He climbed out, grinning at them.

"Special agents. Listen, I got your call. But I'm not sure I got what you were saying." The man said, stepping towards them.

Dean pointed up at the arm with his gun.

"Hey." Rick said, peering up at the tree. "I think we found Phil."

"That's what I said." Dean nodded, looking satisfied.

"Uh, I should probably call this in." the ranger said, moving back towards his vehicle to find his radio.

"Yeah, yeah. Solid move, Rick." Sam nodded at him.

As he picked up the radio, they heard the sound of something breathing heavily.

"Uh, this is Ranger Evans up at Acher's Point. Come in." Rick said. "Uh, repeat. This is Chief Ranger Evans."

"Chief Ranger, go ahead." The woman on the radio replied.

"I have a situation out at Acher's Point." The ranger said.

"Ranger…" Bobby said, glancing around. "I think we've got company."

"Yeah? Who's that?" Rick asked, turning to look at him with a grin.

Suddenly something seized him and dragged him backwards into the treeline.

"Ranger!" Sam yelled.

They darted forward, running into the trees as they heard crashing and crunching noises.

"Ranger Evans! Ranger!" Sam called out.

Bobby looked up, searching through the leaves and branches of the trees.

"It's got him up in the trees. Lights off." he instructed, turning off his own spotlight.

"What?" Dean demanded, lowering his gun.

"Wait, Bobby, you think that's really a good idea?" Sam questioned.

"Shut up, shut off, and listen."

They turned off their lights and listened. The sound of ripping and chomping reached their ears and their stomachs twisted.

"Damn thing's eating Rick." Bobby muttered.

"Man, I liked Rick." Dean complained.

Sam and Bobby looked at him questioningly before the latter closed his eyes and raised his rifle. After a few moments, he fired off a round and something crashed through the trees at their feet. In his hand was one of Rick's arms.

"Wow. Nice shot, Bobby." Dean said, his eyes wide as he stared at the disgusting looking creature that was shaped like a human but not at all human.

"Seriously." Sam breathed.

"We all got our gifts." Bobby shrugged, nudging at the creature with his boot.

"What about the rest of Ranger Rick?" Dean asked, looking up into the trees.

"Ranger called in his 10-20. His own will find him. We got crap to do." Bobby answered, hoisting his rifle over his back.

* * *

Bobby entered the house first, moving out of the way as Sam and Dean brought in the dead creature and laid it on the table.

"Built like a supermodel, but the thing was strong. That's for damn sure." Bobby said, inspecting the monster's slight figure. "Carried a full-grown man up a tree in nothing flat."

"But, it only took one bullet to bring it down." Sam acknowledged as they stared down at the table.

"And not even a silver bullet, just a bullet-bullet." Dean reminded them.

Suddenly the creature sat up with a scream of fury and launched itself to a standing position. The three hunters didn't hesitate before firing on it repeatedly until it fell back on the table, really dead this time. Sam and Dean exhaled loudly as Bobby approached it.

"First one must have just stunned it." he said.

"All right, well, let's check its hulk pants for some ID." Dean said, grimacing as he pulled a wallet out of the tattered pants.

He opened it and let out a noise of protest at the blood and slime on it.

"Oh, that is just gonna ruin the leather."

Sam gave him an exasperated look and yanked the wallet away.

"Are you feeling okay?" Bobby asked, suspicious of Dean's strange behavior.

"Yeah, I feel great." Dean shrugged carelessly, something he hadn't done in months.

"Gerald Browder, uh, lived here in town, 5'9", brown hair and blue eyes... 235 pounds." Sam said hesitantly, glancing up at the thin monster on the table.

"Whoa." Dean commented.

"Well, apparently, he's lost a little pudge." Bobby said with a raised eyebrow.

"Maybe it's a-a lap-band side effect." Dean said, laughing.

Sam and Bobby didn't laugh, just shaking their heads. The older hunter picked up a stick and poked it inside of one of the bullet wounds of the creature. Grey slime covered the stick once he pulled it back out, dripping off of it.

"What the hell?" Bobby said, looking up at the brothers who looked clueless. "I think we better have a look under Gerald's hood."

Several minutes later, Bobby and Sam were examining the creature's open chest cavity with forceps and their own gloved hands.

"God! Its organs are swimming in the stuff." Bobby said with disgust.

Dean walked into the room sipping at a glass of whiskey.

"You guys getting hungry? I'm hungry."

They ignored him, peering into the man's abdomen.

"What's that?" Sam asked, pointing at a large, swollen thing.

"His stomach. For a guy on a diet, Gerry here packed it in pretty good." Bobby said as he sliced it open.

Sam grimaced, shuddering.

"That's human right there."

"That's fresh Rick. Let's see." Bobby began pulling stuff out and dropping it in a metal bowl. "Plus... a pine cone? Pack of gum in the wrapper."

"That's… that's older. Maybe like a… maybe Ranger Phil or the camper." Sam pointed to a finger.

"What's that?" Bobby wondered, pulling out a hard, round thing.

"Looks like a… yeah, that's a… that's a cat's head." Sam stammered, looking like he was about to be sick.

"A glamper or two is one thing, but you got to be damn hungry to eat a cat's head." Bobby commented, even his tough exterior affected by the disgusting nature of the situation.

"Mm-hmm." Sam agreed, nodding.

"Well, lookit here. I'm no Dr. Oz, but..." Bobby removed a large, lumpy, black object from the body. "I think that's his adrenal glands."

"Okay. And?" Sam wondered.

"Meant to be the size of hotel bar soap... and bright orange." Bobby said as they both winced at the smell.

"All right, that might help explain the strength. Um, but whatever this thing is, it's not the Jersey Devil, but it sure as hell ain't Gerald Browder anymore." Sam commented as they backed away a step from the body.

"Okay, guys, seriously." They both turned to face Dean who was standing at the doorway looking unaffected when he would usually be complaining over the gross creature and his insides. "It's time for dinner?"

Sam and Bobby frowned at him.

* * *

They were at the same restaurant. Dean was already chowing down on his sandwich while Sam and Bobby only sipped at coffee.

"Gerald Browder, 35, self-employed. Air-conditioning repairman." Sam read off of the missing person's report on his laptop. "Missing person number three. Disappeared eight days ago."

"Well, that explains all the people who got eaten in the last eight days." Bobby commented.

"Yeah. Question is, what happened to him?" Sam said, glancing over at Dean who was groaning as he took large bites of his sandwich.

"Dean. Uh, so, what do you think?"

Dean looked between them before shrugging.

"I'm not that worried about it." he said with his mouth full.

"Excuse me?" Bobby said, frowning at him.

"That's funny, right? I could give two shakes of a rat's ass." Dean chuckled before turning to Bobby. "Is that right? Do rats shake their ass, or is it something else?"

They just stared at him until he shrugged and went back to his sandwich. Sam glanced around the restaurant to see many customers eating the same sandwich. They all had the same glazed look in their eyes that Dean was sporting. Bobby noticed it too, his eyes widening.

"Give me that." Sam snatched the sandwich away from Dean who protested immediately.

"Whoa, whoa! Why?!"

"There's some funky chicken in the TDK Slammer, ain't there?" Bobby said as they inspected it.

"Yeah." Sam nodded, sniffing the sandwich before recoiling at the strange smell.

* * *

They were back at the house and Bobby set the sandwich down, wrapped in foil, on a plate on the table.

"This is stupid. My sandwich didn't do anything. I don't know what you think you're gonna find." Dean said, his words slightly slurred and his eyes heavy lidded.

"There's something wrong with you, Dean." Bobby snapped at him.

"Are you kidding? I'm fine! I… I actually feel great." He said, climbing up to sit on the counter of the kitchen. "The best I've felt in a couple months. Cas? Elena? Black goo? I don't even care anymore. And you know what's even better? I don't care that I don't care. I just want my damn slammer back."

"Dude, you are completely stoned, just like Ranger Rick was." Sam sighed, turning to look at him.

"Just like the dinner rush back at Biggerson's. And everybody's loving the Turducken." Bobby said, also looking at Dean, who's eyes were attracted to his sandwich.

They widened when he saw gray goo bubble out from the sandwich.

"I think you pissed off my sandwich." He said.

Bobby and Sam stepped away from it with matching grimaces.

"That… that's in me?" Dean asked, sliding off of the counter as he put his hand over his stomach.

"O-only half of it." Sam said, trying to read the best in the situation.

"Does that snot look familiar?" Bobby said, studying it.

"Okay, so whatever turned Gerry Browder into a pumpkin head... and is currently turning Dean into an idiot…"

"I'm right here. Right here." Dean interrupted, pointing to himself.

"Is in the Turducken Slammer at Biggerson's." Bobby finished Sam's thought. "It's in the meat."

Dean made a disgusted face.

"If I wasn't so chilled out right now, I would puke."

* * *

They were at the Biggerson's restaurant sitting in the van that Bobby brought and watching the building.

"How's he doing?" Sam asked, watching the building through binoculars.

Bobby glanced into the backseat to check on Dean. The older Winchester was lying across the seat with his head tilted back and his mouth open as he let out soft snores.

"He's sleeping it off. Tryptophan coma."

"Probably the most sleep he's gotten in months. So, you think he's okay?" Sam asked, glancing over at Bobby.

"Yeah, he's all right." the older hunter said, turning to face forward.

"Good." Sam still looked bothered. "So you don't worry about him?"

"What do you mean? Before the Turducken?" Bobby asked.

"Yeah. Yeah, I kind of mean more like, uh... more like ever since my head broke... and we lost Cas… and Elena. I mean, you ever feel like he's… he's going through the same motions but he's not the same Dean, you know?" the younger brother shrugged.

"How could he be?" Bobby said. "He lost his best friend and his girl and he lives in constant fear that you're gonna break down."

"Right, yeah, but what if…"

"What if what, Sam? You know, you worry about him. All he does is worry about you. Who's left to live their own life here? The two of you…" Bobby shook his head. "Aren't you full up just playing Snuffleupagus with the Devil all the live long?"

"I don't know, Bobby. Seeing Lucifer's fine with me." Sam shrugged.

"Come again?"

"Look, I'm not saying it's fun. I mean, to be honest with you, I-I kind of see it as the best-case scenario. I mean..." Sam pressed his finger to his palm where his scar stood out. "... at least all my crazy's under one umbrella, you know? I kind of know what I'm dealing with. A lot of people got it worse."

Bobby stared at him for a moment.

"You always were one deep little son of a bitch."

Sam let out a laugh and looked up, noticing something.

"Wait, wait, wait. Here we go."

A delivery truck was backing up to the receiving entrance of the restaurant. The truck driver got out and wheeled cartons from the truck into the back of the restaurant. Once he was done, he drove away and Bobby and Sam exchanged a look.

"Well, I guess we follow him." the older man said.

* * *

By the time that they got to the truck's destination, Dean was sitting up in his seat and rubbing his head. The truck pulled up to the warehouse and parked before the drive got out and walked inside. They all stared at the building in confusion, wondering why the truck was at a higher scale warehouse and office building.

"That's weird, right? I mean, national franchise like Biggerson's getting meat from a place that looks like it wholesales Hong Kong knockoffs." Sam commented.

"Okay. Yeah. It's a little weird." Dean admitted.

They turned to look at him before nodding at his normal appearance.

"All right, well, I guess we wait till they close up shop, go take a look around?" Sam suggested.

"Hang on." Bobby said.

A car pulled up to the building and the driver's door opened as the truck driver exited the building again. All three hunters' eyes widened when they recognized him immediately.

"No." Sam muttered. "Edgar."

"Leviathans." Dean growled.

He launched for the door but Bobby and Sam both reached back and grabbed him.

"Leviathans! You know that they know where she is! We have to figure it out!" Dean snapped, struggling against the hold they had on them.

"We're going to, boy! But it won't do any good going bursting in there guns blazing when you don't even know how to kill them!" Bobby grunted, yanking him so that he sprawled out onto the seat.

Dean glared up at them but didn't make a move to run out again.

"We're gonna do this the smart way." Bobby continued.

They turned back to see Edgar and the truck driver escorting a hooded man into the warehouse. They immediately recognized his outfit as the Biggerson's uniform that Brandon, the rude waiter, had been wearing.

"Son of a bitch." Dean said, watching.

"What the hell is going on?" Bobby said.

* * *

"Put him with the others, if you don't mind." Edgar said, passing Brandon off to the truck driver.

"Edgar." Dr. Gaines walked up to him with a grin. "Follow me. I've been so busy with this experiment, I didn't even realize you were back. It's, uh, big stuff."

"I'm back because of the experiment. What's happening? You said you were refining the formula." Edgar said, unimpressed as they walked through the hallways.

"Yes. Absolutely. And it's going great. The absorption rate is up in lower concentrations." Dr. Gaines said.

"But it didn't solve our little issue with adverse reactions."

"Well, no. Not 100%." The doctor sighed.

"Burn them." Edgar said, looking in the cages that held the failed experiments.

"What? But they represent crucial test data. Where the additive formula went wrong, where my initial projections failed." Dr. Gaines argued.

"Dick is coming." Edgar said, narrowing his eyes at the man.

Gaines's eyes widened and he turned to the truck driver.

"Burn them."

* * *

Dean and Bobby were sitting in the front seat now, Bobby in the driver's seat and Dean in the passenger's.

"There's nothing happening back here at all." Sam said over the speakerphone that Bobby was holding.

"Yeah, okay, Sam. Well, they're pretty dug in, so why don't you finish circling and head on back?" Bobby told him.

"Right." Sam said before hanging up.

"How's your head?" Bobby asked, glancing over at Dean.

"Well, I think the slammer's pretty much wore off. In between that and the twenty cups of coffee, I'm nicely tense and alarmed." Dean said, glaring straight forward with tension in every muscle.

"I wasn't talking about that."

Dean glanced over and saw the intent in his eyes.

"Oh, Bobby, don't… don't go all Sigmund Freud on me right now, okay? I just got drugged by a sandwich." He snapped, shaking his head.

"I want to talk about your new party line." Bobby said.

"Party? What are you talking about? I don't even vote." Dean said, confused.

"The world's a suicide case. We save it, it just steals more pills?" Bobby repeated.

"Bobby, I'm here, okay? I'm on the case. What's the problem?" Dean growled.

"I've seen a lot of hunters live and die. You're starting to talk like one of the dead ones, Dean."

"No, I'm talking the way a person talks when they've had it, when they can't figure out why they used to think all this mattered." Dean shot back.

"Oh, you poor, sorry... you're not a person." Bobby snapped.

"Thanks." Dean said, looking away.

"Come on, now. You tried to hang it up and be a person with Elena. And now here you are with a mean old coot and a van full of guns. That ain't person behavior, son. You're a hunter, meaning you're whatever the job you're doing today. Now, you get a case of the Anne Sextons, something's gonna come up behind you and rip your fool head off. Now, you find your reasons to get back in the game. I don't care if it's love or spite or a ten-dollar bet. I've been to enough funerals. I mean it. You die before me, and I'll kill you." Bobby growled.

Dean gave him the side-eye as he lifted his cup of coffee to his mouth.

"We need to scrape some money together, get you a condo or something." He said.

Bobby scoffed as Sam climbed into the back of the vehicle.

"Hey. Something's up." He said.

Two black vehicles pulled up as Edgar and Dr. Gaines walked out of the building. The one in the back opened and Bobby immediately recognized the man.

"Well, I'll be a squirrel in a skirt. It's Dick frigging Roman." He said, watching as he walked up to the two Leviathan.

"What? Who the hell is Dick frigging Roman?" Dean questioned.

"Billionaire Dick Roman, seen here at a recent press conference, has been on the corporate-takeover warpath in the last several months and shows no signs of relenting."

Dean and Sam watched the news report on the laptop.

"I believe in good old American values, like unlimited growth. But it's like I always say… if you want to win, then you got to be the shark. And a shark's got to eat. Well, that's a great question. Yes, we have made new acquisitions. I don't believe in hostile takeovers. I believe in merging... and coming out on top." Dick Roman announced in a speech.

"Whether at the helm of his America's cup-winning yacht or one of his Fortune 500 companies, Roman has never shied away from the spotlight. Roman's record-breaking series of motivational seminars, When in Rome, have outsold every other money-making program on the market. A vocal member of the NRA and a steadfast supporter of the second amendment, Roman has started attracting some conservative political attention, as well." The reporter said.

"Roman is ruthless, but good-looking. I think he'll make a great candidate."

"Another great question. No, I am not running for political office at this time. But I do have a number-one bestseller." Roman said proudly, grinning a creepy grin.

"Holy crap. What the hell is that?" Dean wondered.

"That's one of the top 50 most powerful men in America, Dean." Sam said, reading the article.

"Says here top 35 as of last month. Now it's all making sense. Remember when Crowley kept going on about hating Dick? I thought he was just being general." Dean commented.

"Well, if the Leviathan got to him, then that means they're playing on a much bigger board than we were thinking." Bobby said.

"So what, then? I mean, we can't exactly outgun them." Sam said, looking back to where Bobby was in the backseat digging through stuff.

"No, but we got the drop on them. Means we got a chance to figure out what these guys are really doing here."

"Whoa. Where'd you get that mother?" Dean looked at the surveillance equipment he pulled out.

"It's on loan from Frank's big brother collection. It'll pick up vocal vibrations from window glass at half a mile. It's time to find out what these ugly bastards are up to." Bobby said.

* * *

Dr. Gaines led Dick and his assistant to a gallery window to look down on a family that was eating the turducken sandwiches and watching television.

"The food additive that I've introduced into the Turducken has a near-100% rate of effectiveness. Once the subject tries it, they crave more within a few hours. With the very first dose, it starts to work on their DNA, slowing their metabolism, causing weight gain, and dampening their emotional range, which makes them perfectly complacent. As you can see, they have yet to notice that grandma is no longer with us." Dr. Gaines nodded at the dead elderly woman in the recliner. "True, if you leave out a cooked patty for more than an hour, it reverts back to a somewhat, uh, unappealing state, but I have yet to have a case of leftovers."

"You know what I love? I mean, besides handball and a really crisp Chardonnay. I love progress." Dick said with a grin, turning to look at the doctor. "And I know that progress comes from collaboration, which is what makes moments like this so thrilling."

"I am so glad to hear you say that." Dr. Gaines said with a thrilled look.

"Now, what can you tell me about your failures?" Dick asked.

The doctor's face fell.

"Hmm? My..." he glanced over at the assistant, unnerved by her smile.

"The ones that went off the rails after they ate your little treats." Roman said.

"I, um... they're, uh... they've been very instructive." He said, stammering.

"No. See, I asked for complacency. Not complacency and a 0.03% margin of hyperadrenalized cannibalism."

"I will have this under control." The doctor assured him, panicking.

The woman held up a newspaper with a thick headline.

"Camping high season harshed by human burrito? Have I ever mentioned how I feel about our little forays making the papers?" Dr. Gaines looked terrified at Dick's words. "But, again, collaboration. Progress. I want to turn this little mistake into a big fat teachable moment. Will you help me with that?"

"Well... yes. Of course." He nodded as Dick and his assistant led him out of the room.

* * *

"Our side's still dead, Bobby. Anything with you?" Dean asked, holding the cell phone out on speaker.

Bobby held his phone to his ear as he set up the surveillance equipment on the roof.

"Yeah, same here. I got… hold on." he looked through his binoculars through one of the windows. "Yeah, I got movement… my side, second floor, meeting room."

* * *

Dick entered the nicely set up office followed by his assistant, Dr. Gaines, and Edgar.

"And I'll reschedule with the Senator for lunch Tuesday. You can deal with the archdiocese in the afternoon." His assistant read off.

"Fine." Dick said, his voice registering over Bobby's surveillance equipment.

"Dick, please, let me explain to you what our program has to offer." Dr. Gaines began as he stood in front of the desk and Dick sat behind it.

"No. Let me explain why we're shutting your program down."

"We're shutting it down? No, you can't…" Gaines began, panicked once again.

"I'm shutting it down because of the one golden rule. Do you know it?" Dick asked.

"Yes. Don't make the papers. And I promise that…"

"No, the golden rule is there's no such thing as monsters. Anything stirs their little pots to the contrary… very bad for our plans. So, how can I use your mistake to communicate this to all your coworkers?" the leader of the Leviathan asked.

"Listen, sir, I will do anything. I will give anything to make this right." he said pleadingly.

"I know you will." Dick said with a smirk.

The woman opened a briefcase and took a folded paper item out. Dr. Gaines looked at Edgar with wide eyes, the other Leviathan shrugging without sympathy.

"You're bibbing me?" he asked, sitting down.

The woman unfolded the bib and tied it around his neck.

"Do you know what you can give us, doctor? Your example." Dick said.

Dr. Gaines held his hand up with wide eyed expression, his fingers pointing towards his mouth.

"What's happening now?" Dean asked over the phone.

"Wait." Bobby hissed back.

"Now, Doc. It's time." Dick urged him.

Dr. Gaines' mouth opened wide and Bobby winced, recoiling.

"Now I have officially seen it all." He grumbled.

"Bobby, what is it?" Sam asked.

"He's making the doctor eat himself."

"What?" Bobby demanded.

"He's…"

Bobby was interrupted when the truck driver appeared in front of him and punched him.

* * *

Dean and Sam ran to the roof once Bobby stopped answering them. They immediately found his broken surveillance equipment.

"They got him." Dean said, looking at Sam with wide eyes.

"Dean, there are at least four Leviathans out there. We don't even know how to kill one." Sam pointed out.

Dean looked around with a distressed look and saw an industrial cleaning van pull up.

"Well, it'll be quite a shock when we walk in through the front door, won't it?"

* * *

"We'll have the jet on standby at O'Hare. Thursday morning, you close on the land acquisition in Gleason." Dick's assistant said as she handed him papers.

"Fine." He answered.

"And this came this afternoon." The woman handed him a wooden box as Bobby pretended to be asleep in the chair he was sat in.

"Sotheby's." she said, smiling at her boss.

"Outstanding! Thank you, Susan." She nodded, turning to leave. "Oh, and, Susan?"

Susan turned back at his voice.

"Uh…"

He pointed at the other chair that once held Dr. Gaines. She looked down at the bib stained with black goo and nodded, picking it up carefully before leaving the room.

"No, you're not tied up. Why waste the effort? We both know that you're not gonna get past me. How's your head?" Dick said knowing full well that Bobby was awake.

He sat up, staring at the monster.

"So you got Dick Roman."

"We can have whoever we want. We could have you, for example. If you were worth the effort." He said, looking up at Bobby.

"Oh, you're hurting my feelings." The hunter shot back.

"Well, it's a hard world, Bob. It's an us-eat-dog world." He said, opening the wooden box.

"What do you got there?" Bobby asked.

Dick took a gun out and showed it to him.

"Winning bid at auction. Beautiful. Known for their peerless sighting. I imagine you appreciate guns." Dick said.

"I'd appreciate one right about now."

Dick smirked at him as he loaded the gun with bullets from the case.

"But I mean the machine, the idea. Just one of your species' most inspired inventions. I mean it. I really think you guys have spunk. You're like a planet of just the cutest little engines that could. But... Like the late, great, actual Dick Roman used to say to the whores he'd kick out of the presidential suite... cute don't quite hack it, sugar."

Dick pointed the gun at Bobby across the desk.

"Oh, let's just cut to the chase. I clearly ain't worth the extra time I'm getting here."

"I'm gonna eat you, Bob. Yes. But I like my meals prepared. Besides, holding on to you could pay big dividends. I bet your friends are on their way to rescue the damsel."

Bobby shook his head.

"Nah, they're too smart. They know they don't have the numbers. It'd be suicide. I've run my race. Could die worse."

At that moment, they heard screaming from outside. Dick stood, his eyes narrowed.

"I'd stay in the chair." He said, tucking the gun into his pants and leaving the room.

Bobby jumped up, running behind the desk and shuffling through the papers to see if he could find anything on Elena. Instead, he found maps and other plans. He grabbed the second gun from the box and loading it up.

"Okay, sons of bitches. See what you're up to now. You're coming with me."

He ran to the door with a bunch of papers and the gun and opened it just as Susan opened it and knocked him down. He lost hold of the folders and gun as he fell backwards. She advanced on him but he managed to grab the gun and shoot her in the face. He ran out of the office, knowing that he couldn't double back for the folders.

* * *

Dick wiped off his burning face as Dean and Sam watched. He advanced on Sam as he backed into a corner after dropping his empty spray that once held Borax.

"Sam... that is not how we communicate from a place of yes." Dick said with a grin. "That was bracing. Where'd you kids find this stuff?"

Bobby ran around the corner, not hesitating to shoot the Levathan in the back twice.

"Hey!" he turned to glare at Bobby. "That's mine."

Dean threw more cleansing liquid onto him from behind and he began to sizzle and burn.

"Go! Go!" Dean shouted, rushing them out as he knew that he was leaving behind any hope of finding Elena.

But he had to get Sam and Bobby out before they were all killed. He was slowly realizing that Elena would rather him protect them above saving her.

"Would you stop it with that stuff?" Dick said, wiping it off again.

Dean and Sam ran ahead of Bobby, who was suddenly blocked by a large bodyguard. When they got outside, the jumped into their van and squealed up to the doors that they came out of, waiting on Bobby.

"Damn it, where's Bobby?" Sam snapped.

* * *

Bobby grabbed a hook and swung it at the bodyguard, causing black goo to splatter everywhere as the monster went down. Then he ran out of the warehouse, bolting for the vehicle.

"Bobby! Come on! Come on! Come on!" Sam yelled as he opened the sliding door and jumped in.

He looked around to see Dick walking out and holding up the gun.

"Go! Go!"

Dick began shooting as he slid the door closed. Dean squealed away and drove off towards the road.

"Son of a bitch! I'm glad you got in. He almost took your freaking head off." the older brother sighed with relief.

There was no answer and Sam looked down to see something on the ground. He picked it up and handed it back.

"Hey, Bobby, your hat."

There was still no answer and Sam moved to glance back. That's when he noticed the bullet hole in the hat. Both of the brothers looked into the backseat.

"Bobby? Oh, God. Bobby? Bobby?" Sam yelled.

"Bobby?!" Dean shouted.

There was still no answer.

* * *

Her eyes opened and she blinked up at the ceiling. The room was bright, too bright. His face suddenly appeared in her vision and for the first time in weeks, she didn't recoil at the sight. She just stared up at him.

"Are we ready, Elena?" he asked.

"Ready for what?" she asked, her voice monotone.

Dick held out a hand and she took it without hesitation, sitting up.

"Ready for your mission of course."

She stared at him.

"Kill the Winchesters." She said.

"And everyone around them." He nodded.

* * *

**Don't freak out! Everything is not as it seems! Especially when it comes to Elena. I will give you a hint to calm your nerves, she is not as pliant as she seems to be. And yes, next chapter Elena returns to the Winchesters.**

**Review please! I will probably have an update tonight so keep an eye out.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own TVD or Supernatural**

**Thanks to RHatch89, DrawingMyHeartOut, Nyssandria, SwanQueen4055, Beachgirl97, JMHUW, MaddAlice, Dean Winchester Rocks, and xxPaige23xx for reviewing!**

**Thank you so much for getting us over 100 reviews again! You're all amazing! If you have stuff you want to see in the story, let me know and I'll try to incorporate it.**

**What is in italics is what is going on in Bobby's head.**

**Elena's outfit at the end of the chapter is on my profile.**

* * *

"Bobby? Bobby? Hey, hey, hey, hey. Hold on." Sam said as he scrambled into the backseat.

"Sam, is he dead?" Dean demanded, panicked as he hurtled down the road in the van.

"I'm checking." Sam said, checking his neck for a pulse.

"Is he dead?!" he shouted.

"Just drive, Dean! Bobby!" Sam said desperately.

"You gotta talk to me, Sam!"

"All right, he's breathing." The younger brother sighed with relief. "There's a pulse."

Dean quickly entered numbers on his cell phone.

"Keep him upright. Stop the bleeding." He instructed Sam.

"I'm not an idiot, Dean! I know first aid for a friggin' bullet to the head!" he shot back lifting Bobby up on the seat.

"I need the nearest trauma center." Dean growled into the phone, ignoring Sam's response.

"Hold on. Hold on." Sam urged the older hunter.

"What's the address?!" Dean shouted.

The 911 dispatcher told him and he hung up the phone.

"All right, Bobby, hang in there." he said as he accelerated.

"Bobby! Just hold on!" Sam pleaded.

* * *

_Bobby glanced around as they walked through the forest, their rifles in hand. They came to a tree with a blood arm hanging from it and stopped._

"_Well, I guess we found Phil." Dean commented._

_"Wait a minute." Bobby squinted, glancing around. "Something's not right here."_

_"Yeah, no kidding, Bobby. There's a corpse in a tree." Dean scoffed._

_"Something bad's about to happen." He said._

_"Yeah, well danger's kinda on the W2… that's why we got the guns." The older Winchester brother said._

_Bobby felt blood dripping onto his hand. He lifted his fingers to his head and immediately saw more blood on his fingers when he pulled his hand away._

"_Or something bad's happened already."_

_They walked into the house as Bobby removed his cap and touched his head. He felt blood on his forehead and he sighed._

_"Balls."_

_"Y-you want to tell us what's going on?" Sam asked as they faced him with concerned looks._

_"Yeah, what's going on with your head?" Dean questioned._

"_I got shot in it!" Bobby yelled._

_They exchanged worried looks before glancing back at him._

"_You what?" Dean said._

_"Bobby, we've been with you all day." Sam argued._

_"Yeah, I think we would have noticed if you took a bullet." _

_"I didn't take one here. I-I took one out there, i-i-in the real world." Bobby said, gesturing wildly._

_They stared at him for a moment.  
_

"_You lost us." Dean said._

_"Look, Bobby, you… you want to sit down, seriously?" Sam said, gesturing to a chair._

"_No, there's something I gotta tell you. I-I... dammit, I can't get at it." Bobby cursed as he couldn't remember._

_"Well, it… it's okay, take your time." Sam assured him as Dean looked on with confusion. "We're… we're right here."_

_"No, no, not you, you. Real you. Out… out there, in the waking world. Numbers. Numbers. Where's paper?" Bobby ran to the table where a pen and a notebook were waiting. "I didn't have time before to tell you what they're cookin' up. You need to know." _

_He wrote down __**454895**__ in the notebook. Then he ripped it out of the notebook and folded it before shoving it into his jacket pocket._

"_Well..." He turned around at the soft female voice, shocked at what he saw._

_Karen, his dead wife, was sitting on their bed in a nightgown. He was suddenly in their old bedroom holding a glass of wine as he looked down on her._

"_You just gonna stand there or hand it over, Bobby?"_

_"What the hell? Karen?" he breathed, stepping forward._

_"You were expecting Farrah Fawcett?" she asked, smiling up at him, looking so young and beautiful._

_"No. She always calls first." He paused, glancing around the room. "That's what I said the first time this happened."_

"_What are you talking about? Gimme!"_

_Karen held out her hand and Bobby looked down at the glass of wine. _

"_Oh."_

_He handed it to her and she grinned happily as she sipped it._

_"This… this is just like it was. You're beautiful." he breathed._

"_Quit sweet-talkin' and come here." Karen took Bobby's hand and pulled him around to the side of the bed. "I feel like we haven't talked in ages."_

"_I know just how you feel." Bobby replied._

_"Listen, I have something I want to say to you. No excuses this time, okay? Just sit, Bobby."_

_He sat down willingly, staring at her as he knew what was coming._

"_I know what night this is. I remember this." he said._

_"I've thought about this a lot. I really..."_

_"...sat with this..." He spoke with her._

_Karen hit Bobby's arm lightly, giggling._

"_Don't make fun of me!"_

_"I wouldn't. But right now I gotta..." he cut off when the sound of thunder filled the room. "I don't remember a storm coming in the night this happened."_

_He walked to the window and saw a full moon and a sky of stars. Suddenly, as he watched, the stars and the moon all disappeared. Bobby glanced down and saw a young boy running towards the house._

_"Mother Mary. I've got a messed-up fruitcake." He grumbled._

_"What, Bobby?" Karen said from behind him where she was still on the bed._

_"Nuthin'. I gotta go. I'm sorry, darling." He turned to walk out of the room._

_"Bobby, wait! Don't go!" she called after him._

* * *

_Bobby looked around as he saw lightning flash and thunder crash around him. He was standing behind Rufus on the steps of a church wearing a pest control uniform identical to the one of the other hunter._

_"Number-one trick, is act like you know what you're doing, Bobby." Rufus instructed him._

_"Rufus?" Bobby asked, his brow furrowing as he stared at his old, deceased friend._

_"What, I can't give you advice now? All of a sudden you know everything? You know, I can always go wait in the car." Rufus offered snarkily, raising an eyebrow._

_"No, wait. I… I need your help. Bad." He said, moving forward.  
_

"_Yeah, damn straight you do." The other hunter nodded, satisfied._

_"No, listen to me, Rufus. I'm gonna die!" Bobby said desperately._

_"Oh, now that's a realistic view of the mortality rate on a ghost hunt." Rufus scoffed._

_Bobby noticed he was holding an EMF reader that began to light up and make noises._

_"Whoa, whoa, Nellie, red line. All right, baby boy, here we go." Rufus turned to run into the church._

_"No, Rufus!" Bobby yelled as he entered the building. _

_He sighed, glancing around as he peered through the rain that was now falling. He saw the same young boy running down the street towards him._

"_Are you coming, Bobby?" He turned to see Rufus peering out of the door. "I mean, we're not getting any younger here!"_

"_Coming." Bobby said, turning to glance back and suddenly the boy was in front of him._

_He clasped Bobby's arm with wide eyes._

"_God's gonna punish you."_

_He heard the sound of breaking glass and turned around to see a broken glass of milk on a tiled floor. When he looked back, the boy was gone. He shook his head, turning to enter the church._

_Six people in red robes were standing at the front of the church. Rufus walked towards a door at the side. The six people formed a line and held hymn books as if they were about to sing. The ground shook and Bibles fell out of the pews as thunder crashed through the sky again. As Bobby watched, the members of the choir disappeared. The lights flicked off and a man holding an old-fashioned watch on a chain walked up behind Bobby._

"_Hello, Mr. Singer."_

_Bobby whirled around and lightning flashed as the man swung the watch on its chain and caught it in his hand._

_"Your time's up."_

_Bobby stared at him for a moment before he understood._

"_So you're my reaper, huh? You know, I've heard of you guy grabbing reapees in broad daylight and in their sleep, but I never heard of a reaper showing up inside a guy's custard." _

"_You're in a coma, genius. This is what happens. I climb in your custard and fish you out." the reaper said, stepping forward as he held out a hand._

_Bobby took a careful step back._

_"Oh, you think you can lose me." he said, looking bored already._

_"Gonna try." Bobby shrugged._

_"I've got places to be, Singer, don't waste my time." he sighed._

_"Might as well… while I got it." he said stubbornly._

_"You're prolonging the inevitable." The reaper said, flipping open his ticking pocketwatch._

_He flipped it closed and the ticking ended. When he looked up, Bobby was running through the door that Rufus went through._

_"I can find you anywhere! Even in this gin-soaked rat maze."_

* * *

_Bobby walked around the corner and found himself back in the house at the junkyard. _

"_I'm just saying… look, you can't really compare." Sam said._

_Sam and Dean were sitting on the couch. Elena was lying across their laps, her head in Dean's lap and her legs draped across Sam's as she grinned up at them._

"_I don't even know you right now. There's not even a contest!" Dean yelled back, gesturing wildly._

_"It depends on the criteria." Sam shrugged._

_"Survival is the only criteria, all right?"_

_Dean reached out and grabbed one of the DVD's shoving it in Sam's face as Elena laughed at their ridiculous argument._

_"And when the crap hits the fan, it's not about who has skill. It's about who's the bigger badass. Bobby, will you please tell Sam that Chuck Norris could kick Jet Li's ass?" Dean turned to look at Bobby for help._

_He looked around the room before turning to walk back towards the kitchen._

_"You grab me a beer while you're in there?" Dean called._

"_Me too!" Sam and Elena chorused._

_He slid open the doors, immediately seeing a scene that he did not want to._

_"Bobby?" the woman in front of him was setting plates down on the table._

_"Bobby Singer, you had better be washed up when you come down." She said sternly._

_Bobby looked back to see Dean, Sam, and Elena in the same position. _

"_You're filthy." His mother said harshly. _

_He turned back to look at her._

"_God, what is wrong with you? It's like you want him to get mad."_

_He quickly slid the doors shut again._

* * *

_Rufus tossed Bobby a shotgun as he turned dazedly._

"_Bobby, heads-up!" he caught it, staring at the other hunter. "Whew! Poor thing. Gets left at the altar, kills herself, and then gets buried in the crypt. Now she's going after men who break their girls' hearts. Poignant, am I wrong?"_

_Rufus handed Bobby a flashlight as he stepped away from the graves lined up on the wall in the crypt of the church._

"_Why you out of breath? Did you go for a jog up there, man?"_

_"I need your help, Rufus." Bobby said, his eyes wide._

"_Yeah, clearly." He sighed._

_"No, listen to me." he began._

_"I want you to grab a torch, man. As soon as I open up her coffin, showtime's coming pretty quick." Rufus instructed_

"_No. Will you listen to me, you son of a bitch? There's a damn reaper coming for me." Bobby growled._

_"There's a damn reaper coming for all of us, Bobby." Rufus said, moving to stand in front of a grave that read __**Lara Coggins, 1925 – 1954**__. "All right, let's put this damn ghost to bed. I got plans for Purim."_

_He hit the crypt with a sledge hammer, breaking through the stone._

* * *

"Page the neurosurgeon on call. Tell OR to put electives on hold." The doctor yelled out as they wheeled Bobby's gurney through the hallways quickly.

Dean and Sam followed with matching distressed looks.

"Move trauma two to bed seven as soon as it's clean."

They wheeled him into a trauma room and began working on him as the brothers watched.

"Gunshot wound to the right frontal area, no exit wound found. Breathing spontaneously. Respiratory rate 18 and shallow. RST at 120. BP 90 over 60. GCS 5." A nurse announced as they hooked up machines.

"Push 80 grams of Mannitol over 30. Prep for intubation." The female doctor said, pulling her long blonde hair up into a bun to get it out of the way.

"Air entry clear to bases." The nurse said when she checked his throat.

"Let's get a central line in here now." The doctor instructed.

"What's happening? Please just tell us…" Sam said as they stepped forward.

"Get them out of here." The doctor said without looking at them.

"Sorry. You need to stay out of their way." a nurse said, pushing them out of the room as another nurse was cutting open Bobby's shirt.

"That's our uncle." Dean protested.

"You got to stay back." the nurse repeated.

"What are they doing?" Sam demanded.

"We need to get him stable." The nurse explained once they were in the hallway.

"Okay, when are you gonna take the bullet out?" he demanded.

"If we can get the swelling down, if it's in a place we can get to, if…" the nurse cut off.

"If he even lives that long." Sam said, understanding immediately.

The nurse gave them a sympathetic look before pulling a curtain across the door of the trauma room.

* * *

_Rufus opened a coffin as Bobby shook his head._

_"Forget it. I got to keep moving."_

_He turned to leave but a ghost appeared in front of him, glaring as she bled from a wound across her throat._

_"Heartbreaker." She hissed at him, snatching his shotgun away and throwing it across the room._

_Suddenly she shoved her arm through his chest and he grimaced in pain._

* * *

Sam and Dean were still outside of the room listening to the activity inside since they couldn't see.

"Push 30 more of Mannitol over 10. CBC and 'lytes. Bolus him with 500 saline."

"The vitals were stable two minutes ago."

"Well, he's crashing now."

* * *

"_I'll break your heart." The ghost threatened._

_Rufus suddenly appeared and slashed through the ghost with an iron poker, causing her to disappear as Bobby fell to the ground on his knees._

_"Bobby... come on. You okay? Say something." Rufus said, crouching over him._

_He raised his hand, pointing past Rufus._

"_Look out!" he yelled._

_The ghost reappeared behind Rufus and grabbed him. She threw him to the ground and a sickening crunch filled the room. Bobby ran to the coffin and picked up the torch, immediately burning her bones. He watched as she disappeared with a furious scream._

* * *

"Blood pressure 130 over 90."

The curtain was moved aside and the brothers could see into the room. Bobby appeared to have been stabilized. His head was bandaged and he was wearing a hospital gown. The worse part was the tube down his throat. Dean and Sam sighed heavily, unable to look at the hunter's weakened condition in the bed where he looked so small.

* * *

_Bobby turned to see Rufus still lying where he was shoved down._

_"Okay, Rufus, I need you…" he ran to him to see blood leaking out from his head onto the floor. "Oh, balls. This would be the one job you damn near got yourself killed on. Well, you're gonna be useful, even if I have to carry you."_

* * *

The doctor walked out, moving straight to Sam and Dean.

"He's, uh, stable for the moment. Just have to see." She said.

Dean looked at Bobby in the trauma room. Then he slowly turned and looked at Sam, who looked as distressed as he felt.

* * *

"_Rufus..." Bobby hissed, turning around in circles as he was suddenly standing outside. "Where the hell did you go?"_

_He saw the young boy standing nearby and walked towards him, angry all of the sudden._

"_Yeah, you! You, kid! Hey, what are you making like a white rabbit all over the place for, you grubby little…" the kid scrambld away. "Enough with the jump scares, kid. Who are you running from?"_

_The boy said nothing and Bobby squinted at him._

_"Wait a minute. I know you."_

_"Did you think I was dead?" _

_He whirled around to see Rufus being wheeled out of the hospital that they were in front of by a nurse. He laughed and handed her a piece of apper._

"_Call me, all right?" Rufus said before getting out of the chair. "Don't sit Shiva for me yet, Bobby." _

_Bobby glanced behind him and saw that the young boy was gone. Then he turned back to Rufus, intent on getting him to listen._

"_Listen… after Bridezilla took you out, do you remember what you told me about your near-death experience?" Bobby demanded._

"_I haven't told you nuthin' yet. But now that you mention it, pretty sure I almost crossed over." Rufus nodded._

_"And what did you see?" he asked desperately._

_"What did I see? What are you so riled up about, paco? All right, all right. I saw a hallway, uh, plaid carpet, uh, the apartment building from when I was a kid." Rufus shrugged._

_"And?" _

_"And I wanted out. I'm not dying on no damn plaid carpet. No, thank you."_

_Bobby sighed heavily._

"_So, what did you do?" he asked._

_"Well, obviously, Bobby, not being stupid, I started looking for the damn exit door. Y-you know, I swear that's what they mean about your life flashing before your eyes, cause every time I opened the door, there was another chapter inside… the good, the bad, the bloody." Rufus explained, his situation sounding very familiar._

_"So, how did you get out?" Bobby asked._

_"Found the right door, obviously." He shrugged._

_"Well, how did you find it?"_

_"Oh, simple… I went deep." Rufus informed him._

_"Deep. Like old?" Bobby asked._

_"No, deep like... crap you do not want to think about, so you bury it, you shove other crap over it, and you don't go there, ever." Rufus said._

_Bobby felt his heart sink._

_"So, you're telling me that the way out was through your worst memory?" he questioned._

"_It's an important door, Bobby." Rufus said simply._

_"Okay, this is good." Bobby nodded because at least he knew what to do._

_"What the hell are you going on about, anyway?" Rufus demanded as he pulled the piece of paper out of his pocket._

_"This. I got to find the right door to get this to Sam and Dean. I'm in a coma, Rufus, right now." He said, holding up the paper._

_The hunter laughed, shaking his head._

"_Get out."_

_"I got shot in the dunce cap, Rufus. I'm… I'm dying." Bobby said, completely serious._

_Rufus squinted at him, understanding his tone. _

"_You sure?" he asked._

"_Unfortunately." Bobby sighd._

_"I'll be a prima ballerina. Wait, wait, Bobby. Are you trying to tell me I'm just one of your better memories?" Rufus asked, a smirk forming on his face._

"_Would I make this up?" Bobby growled._

_Suddenly thunder crashed and the ground shook._

_"Okay. I got to go." he said, understanding that as a sign announcing the reaper's coming._

_"What?" Rufus said._

_"You're coming with me, Rufus." Bobby said._

_"What?" he repeated._

_"I need my partner on this. Please." He pleaded._

_The thunder and shaking stopped as they walked along the hospital outside._

_"Aim for your worst memory. Think. Focus. You got it? The worst, okay?" Rufus coached him._

_"I got a metric ton of worst." Bobby grumbled._

_"Just take a shot. By the way, killer bride… how come she call you a heartbreaker, anyway? I mean, you a family man if I ever saw one." _

_Bobby turned to face him, sudden realization on his face. _

"_Thanks for narrowing things down."_

_The ground shook again._

* * *

_They entered the bedroom to a very different scene. Karen was standing beside the bed barefoot with a robe wrapped around her over her nightgown._

"_I can't believe you." she cried, tears streaming donw her face. "I hate you. Everything's a lie. Our whole life, our vows... everything. You knew I wanted kids. Why didn't you just sit me down and say... I don't understand. You're a good man. You'd be a good dad."_

_Bobby stared at her as Rufus remained behind him, watching the scene unfold._

"_What does that even mean, you break everything you touch?!" she screamed, answering a reply that he hadn't spoken. "What kind of excuse is that?!"_

_She stepped back right onto the broken glass, crying out. She sat on the bed and lifted her foot to see that it was bleeding. Bobby moved forward but she glared up at him._

"_Just stay away from me! You broke my heart, Bobby! You happy? Just go away!"_

"_Just so you know..." he sighed heavily. "I'm sorry. I never stopped being sorry."_

_"Bobby, I thought you'd want a gang of rugrats." Rufus said, stepping forward._

_He shook his head slowly, watching his wife cry into her pillow._

"_So, how long after this..." Rufus trailed off._

_"...did she get possessed?" Bobby finished for him. "Three days. Biggest regret of my life, this fight. You'd think it was when I had to stab her to death, but... no. All through that... I was thinking we never got to get past this. If I'd have known, I'd have said anything she wanted to hear." He said._

_"Bobby? Hey." He turned to the other hunter, to his partner. "Try the door. Now."_

_Bobby glanced past him to see bright light shining through the door._

"_Thanks, Rufus."_

_He walked past him and opened the door, hesitating before stepping out into the bright light._

* * *

"_Balls!" he cursed when he realized they were still in his mind, in a bright, sunny park._

_"What year is this? 89-ish?" Rufus asked from beside him._

_"What's it matter? I'm still stuck in eternal friggin' sunshine." Bobby growled._

_"No, I was just thinking, man – you look pretty good there. Must've drank less."_

_His head snapped around and he saw his younger self walking with a child that he recognized immediately._

_"Hey, Bobby, where are we going?" Dean asked, looking up at him._

_"Well, Dean, where's it look like?" his younger self asked the child._

_"Dad says I'm supposed to practice with the double-barrel." Dean protested as he handed him a baseball and a mitt._

"_Well, we're gonna skip the guns today." Young Bobby said as he fit a mitt onto his own hand. "Here. Today... you're gonna throw a ball around, just like a regular snot-nosed little jerk." _

_Dean sighed, moving away from Bobby so they could pass the ball back and forth._

"_You know, for a guy who'd rather break his wife's heart than give her a baby, you make a hell of a nanny." Rufus commented._

_"Shut up, Rufus." He said, watching as Dean slowly loosened up and began smiling slightly as they threw the ball back and forth. "We need another door."_

_They glanced around and saw a shed behind them._

"_Let's go." he began to move towards it but Rufus stopped him as he watched him and Dean._

_"Seriously, though, Bobby, how come…"_

_"Dog with a bone, Rufus." He sighed._

_"No, I really want to know, man… why no kids?" Rufus asked._

_"Ain't that deep." Bobby shrugged. "Dad was a mean drunk. I figured I'd be just like him. And, hey, look… I was right. No sense passing on the legacy."_

_"Man, you're too hard on yourself. You're more of a cranky drunk. You do know that whatever you're trying to avoid with the eye rolls and the grump-a-lumping… that's exactly where you need to go." Rufus said._

_"I ain't avoiding nothing." Bobby snapped too quickly._

_"Yeah, sure." He scoffed._

"_Get off my ass, Rufus." He growled._

_"Hey, Bobby, I'm trying to help you here, okay? You want to get out of here, or you want to die?" _

_"I'm trying. How am I supposed to know what I don't want me to know?" Bobby demanded, throwing the doors open._

* * *

_They were back in the kitchen. Bobby's mother was serving dinner as his father sat at the table reading a newspaper with a scowl. His young self ran into the room and sat at the table, looking apologetic already._

"_Hey, look. The crown prince decided to drop by for a late bite." His father said harshly, glaring up at him._

_"Oh, he… he was just washing up." His mother said quickly. "So, w-who would like to say grace?"_

_"Hell with grace. Pass me the biscuits."_

_Young Bobby reached out for the biscuits and knocked a glass of milk off of the table. It fell to the floor and shattered, sending liquid everywhere._

"_I'm sorry." His younger self said quickly as anger flashed through his father's eyes._

"_What is the matter with you?" the older man snapped._

_"I don't know. I'm sorry." He said weakly._

_"You break everything you touch!" his father shouted._

_His mother was on her knees cleaning up the glass._

_"Let's just have a nice supper." She said pleadingly._

_"A nice supper?" his father said, glaring down at her._

_"Mm-hmm." She nodded hopefully._

_He swept his plate onto the floor, causing it to break and the food to go everywhere._

_"There's your nice supper." He snapped before drinking from a glass of whiskey._

_"I get no respect in this house."_

_Bobby and Rufus exchanged a look before he slid the doors closed, blocking them from the memory._

"_What? Now, you can't tell me that wasn't gnarly enough to go spelunking in." Rufus argued._

_"That was any given Tuesday night. Believe me… it was nothing special." Bobby grumbled, turning around._

_"No, no, no. You're scared." Rufus said, registering his pounding heart and shallow breathing._

"_No, I ain't. I just know we're in the wrong place, Rufus." He said stubbornly._

_Suddenly there was thunder and the ground shook again._

_"You…" Rufus shook his head. "Okay, Bobby, you don't have time. That sound was not the weather, and you know it. We can't keep bopping through your greatest hits forever. That reaper's gonna catch up. I mean, if there was some way to stop the damn thing... but it's a reaper, Bobby. You're screwed." _

"_I know what we're gonna do." Bobby said, walking to his bookshelf in the house._

_"What?"_

_"We're gonna stop the damn reaper." He said simply._

* * *

"So, there's nothing else we can do?" Sam asked the doctor.

"I'm sorry. We just have to wait. We'll see if the swelling goes down." She said solemnly.

"How long?" Dean asked, rubbing his forehead.

"It's hard to say in cases like this." she answered.

"Well, he's lasted this long. That's something, right?" he said hopefully.

"Well, yes." She nodded. "Listen… the bullet didn't shatter. Only one hemisphere of his brain was injured. These are all positive things. But... I don't want to give you false hope here. He's far from out of the woods. Most of the time, cases like this..."

"They die." Sam interrupted.

"Right now it comes down to him. I'll keep you updated." She said before walking off.

Dean turned to Sam.

"No one answered?" he asked.

"Gabriel isn't answering his phone or any prayers. Bonnie is working on a spell to fix him up. Klaus and co are on their way but… they're two day's drive away from here and they don't have teleportation abilities, unfortunately. They're coming as fast as they can but…"

"But they might be too late." Dean said, his mind not really registering the words as he spoke.

"Excuse me." they turned to see a squirrely man standing there. "Sorry to interrupt. Is one of you Robert Singer's next of kin?"

Sam's phone rang at that moment so Dean followed the man into a hallway away from the trauma center.

"We know this is a stressful time." the man said with a fake sympathy.

"Yeah, okay. No offense… you can skip the garnish. What, did his insurance lapse, or what?" Dean demanded.

The man shook his head.

"We're sorry to ask, but, um, did your uncle ever make his wishes known i-in regards to organ donation? Organs are only viable for a very limited window…"

Dean faltered at the words, staring at him.

"Viable?" he said, spitting the word out as if it was vile.

"We're just hoping some good can come of this tragic…"

"Listen to me." Dean growled, interrupting him as his anger rose. "I'm gonna say this once. He's not gonna die. It's one bullet. He's gonna be fine because he's always fine."

"I apologize." The man said, wide-eyed at the barely restrained fury on his face.

"Why are you talking to me like he's gonna die, huh? I do my job! Do your jobs! Save him!" he shouted, attracting attention from the rest of the hospital.

"Of course they're doing everything they can." The man said, nodding quickly.

Suddenly Dean lashed out and punched the glass covering of a sign next to his head. The man jumped and squeaked, his entire body shaking as Dean withdrew his arm, his knuckles dripping blood.

"Walk away from me. Now!" he hissed.

The man hurried away and, after standing there for a moment, Dean walked in the other direction and slammed his way outside.

Dean shook his head as he stomped down the stairs of the hospital, clenching and unclenching his injured hand. His head lifted just in time for him to see a black car parked in front of the hospital. The windows were blacked out but he knew exactly who was in there. His eyes narrowed and his fists clenched. He ran up to the car, slamming his hand down on the window of the backseat as he yelled, attracting attention.

"Dick! I know you're in there. Come on out you dick!"

The window lowered halfway, revealing Dick's grinning face and the otherwise empty backseat.

"What, did you come here to finish the job?" Dean growled, glaring at him.

He simply grinned at Dean, looking proud of himself.

"Yeah? Well, come on. Right here, right now, out in the open, you and me, Dick Roman!" Dean announced, pleased to see camera phones recording their confrontation.

Dick's smile faltered when he saw the attention that was on them.

"See? Deciding to jump a famous guy ain't all upside. You can kill me right now…" Dean spread his arms, backing away. "… you want to see it online."

"Maybe you should go check on that friend of yours. He can't be feeling too frisky right about now. I'm a very good shot." Dick said smugly.

Dean approached the car, pointing his finger at the Leviathan leader.

"We're coming for you, and not just to hurt you… to kill you. You understand me?" he said, his voice full of fury.

"Come on, Dean. I can't be killed." Dick said, amusement in his voice.

"You're gonna wish you could, then." Dean promised him.

He let out a laugh.

"That's some conviction. You'd really crush it on the motivational circuit."

"You're either laughing because you're scared or you're laughing because you're stupid. I'll see you soon, Dick." Dean hissed at him before turning to walk away.

Dick grinned, rolling up the window as he nodded at the driver to pull away. Dean was ascending the steps when he heard cries of shock. He whirled around to see a figure lying on the ground. His eyes widened when he saw the long brown hair fanned out over the gravel. She was hidden by the car until Dick's driver pulled away.

"Get out of my way." he said, pushing through the concerned crowd as he ran to her. "Move!"

Dean fell to his knees by her side, turning her over to see that she was unconscious. Other than that, she seemed fine. No cuts or bruises or any injuries at all.

"Elena." he whispered, pulling her up into his arms.

She was a little bit cold but she was still his Elena. She was alive, he could feel her heartbeat fluttering against her ribs.

"I gotcha. You're safe." He murmured, picking her up bridal style. "You're all right."

He turned to walk towards the hospital as the people watched with surprise.

* * *

"_It's in an old King James Bible." Bobby muttered, taking a book from the shelf and leafing through it._

_The pages were all blank._

_"So, what exactly are we doing now, Bobby?" Rufus asked._

_"Well, technically, you're correct. You can't stop a reaper, not permanently. Only their boss can do that, and we don't want him involved." Bobby explained, taking out another book as he shuddered at the thought of summoning Death._

_"Ah. Now we're cooking with gas." He put the second Bible down on the table and opened it. _

_The pages were cut out to hide a large cross._

_"What is that?" Rufus asked, peering at it._

_Bobby picked up the cross before looking at the other hunter._

_"Well, Sam and Dean have run up against these suckers a couple, three times. Picked up a few tricks… enough to slow them down a hair, at least."_

_"All right. Let's work some mojo." Rufus shrugged._

* * *

Dean and Sam watched, standing outside of the other trauma room that held Elena. She was sleeping on the bed. The doctor walked out.

"Do you know that young woman?" she asked.

"No, no we just found her." Dean lied, knowing that it would be suspicious if they knew two different people who were in the hospital.

"Well she seems to be fine. There are no injuries to be concerned about, not even neurological damage. However her blood work did come back and she's been dosed with Morphine. But not just the normal amount for a hospital. I think that she either overdosed or was drugged." The woman explained.

"Why?" Sam asked.

Dean didn't take his eyes off of Elena.

"Because she has seven times the normal limit of Morphine in her blood system and that's only the amount that we've tested for now. Who knows how long it's been in there. There is a chance that it could be destroying her brain. We can't really know that without a scan but without a medical proxy here…" the doctor trailed off.

"You can't do any tests, legally." Sam nodded.

"The state is sending someone over to sign her off to. But… there's a chance she may never wake up." The doctor said.

Dean shook his head, his crudely wrapped up fist clenching again as the doctor walked off.

"Hey Dean… what did that guy want?" Sam asked as they were caught between two rooms now.

"Uh, nothing. Just some insurance mook." Dean said, shaking his head. "Dick Roman was out there."

"Yeah I assumed since Elena's here. What happened?"

"Nothing... for now. It was just a friggin' staring contest. That was about it." Dean turned to look at Bobby's room. "What's the update?"

"The swelling's down a little. They took him off sedation. Apparently, he… he started fighting his tube. So they pulled them out, and he's breathing on his own." Sam explained.

"That's good, right? Is that good?" Dean asked.

"Yeah. Well, doctor said best-case scenario." Sam nodded.

"All right, so when they gonna take the bullet out?" he questioned.

"Dean, t-they're not even… they're not even gonna try that, not yet." The younger brother stammered.

"What does that mean?" Dean asked.

"The word's abrading, I think." Sam said, screwing up his face as he tried to remember.

"English." He requested.

"Cutting out the dead brain tissue." Sam defined. "That's if the doctor even thinks it's worth the risk."

Dean nodded, his mind once again not really registering the information.

"Can I talk to you?" Sam pulled Dean away from the rooms and the people watching them.

"What? Talk about what?" Dean demanded, yanking his arm from his brother's grasp.

"You know what." Sam sighed.

"No." Dean shook his head stubbornly. "We're not gonna have that conversation."

"Well, we need to." Sam shot back.

"He's not gonna die." He hissed.

"He might." Sam said, sounding regretful that he had to say it.

"Sam…"

"Dean, listen… we need to brace ourselves." Sam said quietly.

"Why?!" Dean shouted.

"Because it's real!" Sam yelled back.

"What do you want to do? You want to hug and… and say we made it through it when Dad died? We've been through enough." Dean snapped, turning to walk away.

He walked straight into Elena's room, pulling a chair up to her bed and taking her hand in his without caring who saw. He bent his head over hers, pleading words falling out of his mouth for her to wake up and fix this, to fix Bobby and fix what was broken when she was taken. He knew that it was selfish and that she was probably hurting but he needed her to fix it because he had no idea how to fix it himself.

* * *

_Rufus was gathering ingredients and putting them into the bowl on Bobby's desk. Bobby opened a closet that was empty, for some reason._

_"We still need gold ore, hemlock, and mace." He muttered._

_"Mm. So, pretty basic, then, huh?" Rufus said sarcastically._

_As Bobby walked through the house, the light went out in the windows as he passed them. He opened a kitchen drawer, pulling out the stuff he needed. When he turned, h saw his younger self talking on the phone as he paced._

_"No, we didn't shoot rifles, as a matter of fact. We threw a ball around." he said into the receiver._

_There was angry ranting on the other end that made him sigh._

"_He's a kid, John. They both are. They're entitled." He was interrupted. "Yeah, I know I ain't their dad."_

_He hung up and threw the phone down. Bobby glanced down at the still open kitchen drawer to find that it was empty._

"_What the hell?" he mumbled._

_He opened the fridge and pulled out a jar of blood, shaking his head at the instincts that told him that everything was wrong. Just as he finished painting a symbol the floor, Rufus was finished mixing the ingredients. The two hunters stood behind the desk and Bobby picked up the cross._

"_O theristes, kaleo se Kai deo." He chanted._

_Rufus lit a match and droppd it into the bowl. There was a flash of fire and smoke and suddenly the reaper was standing in the symbol on the floor._

_"Cute. Got to admit… first time anyone's pulled one on me while actually unconscious." The reaper said dryly._

_"Well, get comfy." Bobby said simply._

_"Not so fast." The reaper stopped him._

"_Yeah? Sorry. Other business." Bobby replied, walking towards the door._

_"I'm trying to help you, Bobby. You're going to die. Think you can stop it by pinning me like a bug?" the creature demanded._

_"Well…" he shrugged._

_"You've seen the dark coming… people disappearing, things going blank. Look around. Cell by cell..."_

_Bobby glanced around at the photographs on the bookshelves to see people's faces blurring. _

"_...that bullet's killing your brain. You're running out of places to hide. So, understand… this trap won't hold forever, because this room won't hold, because you are going to die." _

"_You think." Bobby scoffed._

_"Come with me. Be done. You've earned it. Or fight me. Stay here. And you know the drill." The reaper said simply._

_"I don't know, Bobby. I mean, you really want to get stuck, turn into some ghost?" Rufus said, uncertain._

_"I know what I'm doing, Rufus." Bobby snapped._

_"Yeah, yeah, you're thinking you can help those boys. But how many spirits you meet in their right mind? Some hunter's gonna cut you down." Rufus reminded him._

_"Whose side are you on?" he demanded._

_Bobby... you've helped. You got handed a small, unremarkable life, and you did something with it. Most men like you die of liver disease, watching Barney Miller reruns. You've done enough. Believe me." the reaper tried to convince him._

_"I don't care." Bobby growled._

_"Why?"_

"_Because they're my boys." He said simply._

_He turned to see the youngest version of himself standing nearby looking panicked._

_"All right. The only way out is through." He sighed. "So lead the way." _

_Then he turned to Rufus._

_"Nice seeing you again, old friend." He nodded at him before glancing at the reaper. "Thanks for the chat."_

* * *

"_It's fine. It'll just take a second." His mother said as she cleaned up his father's ruined dinner._

_The older man poured himself another glass of whiskey._

_"You just gonna sit there? Get a broom or something!" _

_Young Bobby ran out of the room and he stood, rounding on his mother._

_"You know why he's like that? Because you let him do whatever he wants." He growled at her._

_"It's okay. See? I'm almost done. You just relax a-and have another drink." His mother stammered, trying to keep a smile on her face._

_Bobby sighed heavily, knowing what was coming next._

_"Don't tell me what to do." His father snapped._

_Young Bobby was watching from the doorway._

"_No. Wait. Wait."_

_They watched as he struck her across the face, knocking her down onto the floor. When looked up, straight at Bobby, ther was blood on her mouth._

"_Why do you always provoke him?" she whimpered._

"_Because he's a bad kid… that's why." His father huffed._

_"Well, that's a load of crap." Bobby cut in, glaring at his father. "Who the hell were you to say?"_

_"I'm your father." He said, pointing at him. "And you show your father respect."_

_"The day he deserves it, you drunken..."_

"_Shhh..." his mother breathed quietly._

_"... bully. Punching women and kids… is that what they call fatherhood in your day?" he demanded, not stopping._

_"Oh, you deserved it. Believe me. You were nothing but ungrateful." His father assured him._

_"I was a kid! Kids ain't supposed to be grateful! They're supposed to eat your food and break your heart, you selfish dick! You died, and I was still so afraid I'd turn into you I never even had kids of my own." he shouted._

_"Good. You break everything you touch." His father nodded._

_His mother cried harder at the words._

_"Uh-huh. Well, as fate would have it, I adopted two boys, and they grew up great. They grew up heroes. So you can go to hell!"_

* * *

The doctor and a nurse ran towards Bobby's room right past Sam and Dean.

"Keep the head of the bed up for transport. IV can run off the pump. Just run a TKVO. We'll have to wait for respiratory." The doctor fired off.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait. What's happening?" Sam asked, stopping her.

"He's showing signs of responsiveness. We're taking him up for surgery. If you want to see him, I'd squeeze in there quick."

The brothers hurried towards Bobby's room.

* * *

"_I'm sorry. I said that I'm… I'm sorry." His mother whimpered as more blood dripped from her nose._

_"Yeah, yeah, you say that every time." his father growled._

_"Please just stop." She pleaded._

"_No! This time, you listen!" he shouted._

_"Stop it."_

_They all turned to see young Bobby standing in the doorway with a rifle. He cocked it once they were all watching and his father laughed._

_"You're kidding, right? You're not half enough man to use that thing. You leave the adults to sort this out... and I will deal with you later." _

_He grabbed his mother's hair and dragged her partway to her feet._

_"Bobby, just go. Do what he says. Just go." she cried._

_"No." he said, pointing the rifle at his father. "Leave her alone."_

_Suddenly he shot his father in the head as his mother screamed. His body fell to the floor, dead. His mother stumbled away, looking at him with horror._

_"Bobby, what did you do? God is gonna punish you."_

"_Hey." Bobby walked over to his younger self and put a hand on his shoulder._

_"You did what you had to do. This is where you learn that... they pretty much never say thanks when you save 'em. Now go get a shovel. Bury the old man out behind the woodshed."_

_Young Bobby nodded before turning to run out._

_"You got the only genetic case of bullet in the brain I've ever seen." He turned to see the reaper standing over his body._

_A bright light appeared through the kitchen window at that moment._

_"Not so fast, Singer." The reaper said as he hurried towards the kitchen door._

_He threw it opened and threw himself into the light without hesitation._

* * *

"Sorry. We need to get moving." A nurse said as they hovered over Bobby's bed.

"Right. Yeah." Sam nodded, looking at Dean and then back at Bobby.

"Hey, um... Bobby, um, hey..."

Sam took his hand and sighed.

"Just... thanks... for everything." He said, letting go of his hand and patting it, choking back the lump in his throat.

"All right. Please step back." the nurse said, attempting to push the bed.

"Yeah." Dean nodded and they moved to step back.

Suddenly Bobby raised his hand and knocked it into Sam's, his eyes opening slightly.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, stop. His eyes are open." Sam stammered.

"Bobby?" Dean said, both of the brothers leaning over the bed into his vision.

"Hey." Sam put a hand on his shoulder.

Bobby removed the oxygen mask covering his mouth and nose. The brothers both took one of his hands.

"What… don't talk. Don't talk. A pen… I…" Dean grabbed a pen from the chart at the end of the bed

"Here. Here, here, here." He handed the pen to Bobby, who turned Sam's hand over.

"What is it?"

Bobby wrote a number on the hand with difficulty, breathing heavily with the effort. When he was done, his hands dropped and he smiled up at them as they leaned in close.

"Idjits."

His head fell back onto the pillow and his eyes fluttered closed. The monitor began to beep continuously.

"Bobby? Hey!" Dean yelled.

The monitor suddenly flat lined.

"Call a code… trauma room!" the nurse shouted as they were shoved out of the room.

The staff ran into the room. Dean and Sam watched with devastation as they attempted to revive Bobby uselessly.

* * *

_Bobby walked through the house towards the fridge._

_"You microbrewing in there, or what? Come on… we got a lot of Chuck Norris to get through. Let's go." Dean called._

_"Nice move, waking up like that." the reaper said as he pulled beers out of the fridge._

_"Motivation's a mother." He sighed, turning around._

_"You know why it's dark out there, don't you?" the reaper pointed to the window that was dark. "This house… it's your last island, everything else melted by that bullet… gone. This is your last chance to come with me and move on. For your own good, Bobby, let go. They'll be okay without you." _

_"Last memory, huh?" Bobby asked._

_He nodded._

_"Glad I saved the best for last." He said, turning to walk off._

_Things were different in the living room. Elena was nowhere to be seen and Dean was plopping on the couch next to Sam, who was eating popcorn._

"_All right, scoot, jerkface. Show your elders some respect." The older brother said._

_"You scoot, ass-hat." Sam shot back, flinging a piece of popcorn at Dean._

_Bobby handed them both beers and they set them on the table before Dean began digging through a plastic bag._

_"Did we get licorice?" He demanded as Bobby sat down to watch them._

_"No, we did not get licorice." Sam said with a mouthful of popcorn. "We got good snacks. Licorice is disgusting."_

_Bobby smiled slightly._

"_I'm sorry. I didn't quite understand that, uh, Mr. Peanut-Butter-and-Banana Sandwiches?" Dean shot back._

"_You know what? I stand by that sandwich. Nobody likes licorice. I-it's… it's made of dirt."_

"_It is a classic movie food. It's right up there with popcorn."_

"_Popcorn? Really?" Sam demanded._

_"Yes."_

_Elena walked in, falling across their laps again. She held up a bag of licorice for Dean with a wide smile. He grinned and shook his head, bending over to kiss her softly and quickly before eagerly ripping into his bag of licorice._

_"You're out of your mind." Sam said, shaking his head._

_The three began fading from Bobby's vision._

_"What… it's like little chewy..." they disappeared completely. "... pieces of heaven." _

"_Oh, chewy pieces of heaven if you're a girl." Sam's voice was the last thing he heard followed by Elena's pealing laugh._

"_Well, Bobby?" he stood, turning to face the reaper. "Stay or go… what's it gonna be?"_

_The reaper's watch was open and ticking._

* * *

Dean was hunched over on the bed, his head buried in his hands. Sam walked out of the bathroom of the motel room, his face twisted with emotion.

"I… uh, I figured we would call Ellen and Jo in the morning. They need to know… Garth too. I already called Klaus and everyone, they're not gonna come here anymore. I said we would bring Elena as soon as we could… as soon as…"

"She's probably not even going to wake up." Dean said roughly, looking up.

Sam turned to look at him.

"Dean…" he sighed.

"No, Sam. Don't tell me to keep up hope or whatever. I can't take it anymore. I can't take another person…" Dean cut off, shaking his head. "Just… leave it."

They didn't say another word. Dean didn't even bother to take off his shoes as they collapsed into the bed. The exhaustion of the past few days quickly caught up with the two, sending them into a deep sleep.

* * *

Hours later, the door of the motel room slammed open, splintering a little as it hit the wall. Dean and Sam were up immediately, both of them pointing guns at the door. A figure in a white hospital gown walked through the door, peering at both of them with wide brown eyes. Her stringy, dirty hair was hanging in her face and her skin was pale.

"Elena." Dean breathed, shocked to see her awake and walking.

"Dean." She said, staring back at him.

He dropped his gun and ran to her, yanking her into his body and clutching her close.

"I thought… I thought you were…" he began.

"Shh… I know." She said, holding him and stroking his hair softly. "You thought I was dead."

He sighed, burying his face in her hair.

"You're really here." He said.

"Yeah, I'm here."

She drew away and looked him in the eyes. Dean stared back at her, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up when he felt a shiver run through him at the look in her eyes. They weren't warm, they weren't relieved. She looked cold, emotionless. A smile spreaded across her face, it almost looked mocking.

"Katherine." He hissed, stepping away as he realized that Dick must have tricked them.

Her hand shot out and wrapped around his neck, pulling him in again.

"Guess again." She whispered before slamming his head against the table, knocking him out.

Sam let out a yell of surprise as Dean fell to the floor, unconscious. He was shoved back into the wall by an invisible force before he could run at Elena. She walked to him calmly, looking up into his eyes. Her smile turned into a smirk and she wrapped her hand around his throat. It wasn't a grip that cut off his air, just one that held him in place.

"Hey Sam. It's been too long." She said before slamming his head back into the wall and knocking him out.

* * *

Dean woke up first, the memories rushing back to his aching head. He tried to move but he found himself restricted. His eyes flew open and he realized that he was tied to a chair. A gag was in his mouth and his hands were tied in an intricate knot. He began feeling around for the tools he usually had.

"Ah ah. No tricks up your sleeve this time." his head turned and he saw Elena reclining on his bed with one of her long legs crossed over the other.

She was in a completely different outfit. Her hair was fixed perfectly and she was even wearing make up. Dean tried to say something but the gag kept his voice muffled. His head snapped around at a moan and he saw Sam in a similar situation to him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Elena move from the bed. His eyes were fixed on the blood running down his brother's neck from a wound on his head. Suddenly Elena plopped down in his lap, her familiar smell invading his senses and sending a stab of a pain to his chest when he remembered that this was not his Elena.

"Now, I am in no hurry and we pretty much have all the time in the world. How shall we pass it, hmm? I'm open for suggestions." She said, her arm wrapping around Dean's shoulders.

He tried to say something again but couldn't. She sighed and moved off of his lap. He watched her walk to the table and retrieve her personal blade that they'd been keeping for her.

"I guess I'll have to make up my own amusement then." She sighed, picking it up and walking back to Dean.

He struggled against his binds but she rolled her eyes and grabbed the gag, slipping the knife under it and cutting it off before tossing it aside.

"What was that?" she asked, sitting on his lap once again.

Sam watched them with wide eyes, his gag still in place.

"Let us go, we can help you. Whatever they did to you, we can help." He said, hoping that she would agree to it.

Elena let out a laugh and shook her head.

"No one can help me, Dean. Not a single person." She said, standing up.

"The angels… we can call Gabriel." Dean pleaded.

Her eyes grew cold and she glared at him.

"I don't want a single thing to do with those angels. They are cold, heartless beings." She snapped.

Dean stared at her with a devastated expression.

"What happened to you?" he said quietly.

She walked to him, squatting in front of him.

"Dick got in my head, twisted everything up, and took away my defining trait." She said simply, smirking before standing up.

"What do you mean? What did he take away?" Dean asked, panicking when he saw her approaching Sam with the dagger.

She cut through his gag as well, tossing it to the ground.

"My morality, of course." She shrugged.

She slid around Sam, brushing his hair aside and trailing the knife over his throat.

"They gave me a mission, the only reason the Leviathan wanted me in the first place. Kill… the Winchesters." She said, tracing Sam's carotid artery with the tip of the knife.

Dean's eyes widened and his heart pounded as he felt like he would vomit and pass out all at once.

"Elena… no you… you can't. Please, you aren't this. You're better, please." Sam pleaded.

She let out a cold laugh.

"Sam, if I was going to do what they told me to do, you'd be dead already. Stop your pathetic whimpers." She snapped, stepping away from him and moving to grab a third chair, sitting in it across from them. "As it turns out, removing my morality makes me a hell of a liar. I can even trick the occasional Leviathan leader. All Dick had to hear was my agreement to kill you two and everyone in your life and he was dosing me up with Morphine and dumping me in a hospital parking lot."

Dean and Sam stared at her, not quite understanding.

"Why are you doing this, if you're not going to kill us?" Dean asked.

Her eyes bored into his as she crossed her arms and legs at the same time.

"Because I think that I owe you a little payback. After all, you did fuck with my head." She said, tilting her head to the side as if she dared him to deny it.

He realized that she knew about him asking Cas to remove the torture form her and Jeremy's heads.

"Elena… I…" he began.

"Shut up, Dean. I don't want to hear your pathetic excuses. I want you to know what it's like for the rush of extreme pain to come back to you in a matter of seconds. To know that you were tortured for hours and then made to forget all of it." she said, standing up and approaching him. "See I learned a few things from Dick, like how to push a memory into someone else's head. Stay still, you're gonna love this."

She reached out towards him and he flinched away.

"Okay, maybe you're not going to love this, but I am." She said with a smirk.

"Stop!"

They all started at the sound and the fluttering of wings. Elena turned to glare at the two angels who were standing in the room.

"Gabriel." She said, narrowing her eyes at them. "Michael."

* * *

**IMPORTANT! I know, this chapter is all kinds of heartbreaking. But the angels are back! and you know that Elena won't kill the boys. I will give you a few hints about the rest of this part of the story. This is NOT like when she had her emotions turned off on the story. A few of you were right, she is fighting Dick's brainwashing every step of the way so Elena is still herself just with a few pieces missing. She'll get them back, don't worry.**

**Please review!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own TVD or Supernatural**

**Thanks to Nyssandria, DrawingMyHeartOut, RHatch89, Dean Winchester Rocks, SwanQueen4055, xxPaige23xx, MikaelsonChicka, MaddAlice, JMHUW, and the three guests for reviewing!**

**I'm so sorry it took so long. I just kind of hit a bump with this chapter that was really hard to get past. I could not figure out how to write it. I should be back on track now.**

**This might get confusing but just read the whole chapter and it'll make sense by the end. **

**Elena's outfits and her new tattoo are on my profile.**

* * *

**THREE WEEKS LATER**

Dean looked at the wall of newspaper clippings, maps, and pictures with a sigh before clipping another article on the wall of Rufus's cabin.

**Biggerson's Recalls Contaminated Meat: Customers Report Illness After Eating Turducken Slammers**

"Dean, you know…" Sam hesitated as he pulled his beer out of the fridge. "… um... I wonder if… if we... I mean, should we be telling people? I mean, people he knew."

Dean remained quiet for a moment. Then he turned around and looked at Sam.

"How long ago did I give Frank these numbers?" he asked.

Sam stared at him questioningly for a moment.

"Three weeks."

They both looked up to see Elena walk in holding grocery bags full of assorted food.

"You taking care of us now?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

She sighed, turning to look at him with an equally unimpressed look.

"Can't have you dying on me, can I?" Elena fired back.

He scoffed and shook his head, turning back to the wall.

"What, is Frank nuts, or is he just being rude?" he wondered.

"Probably both." she said, walking to Dean and handing him a burger.

He took it, unwrapping it and taking a bite.

"Dean, I-I got to ask you a question." Sam said, watching as the two stood side-by-side looking at the wall.

"Unless, of course, something happened to him." Elena suggested.

"He can't get to the phone because a Leviathan ate his face." Dean agreed. "We should go check on him."

Sam shook his head, putting his beer down. No matter what happened, or what animosity stood between them, Elena and Dean were a great team.

"Dean, do you want to call Bobby's people or not?" he demanded.

Elena and Dean both turned to look at him.

"W-why is… why is that our job?" Dean asked, furrowing his brow at Sam before he bit off another bite of his burger.

"Because who else is gonna do it?" he asked.

"I'm not calling anybody. If you want to, you go right ahead." The older brother snapped.

Sam looked at Elena and she shook her head, turning away.

"I don't want to call anybody. You kidding me?" he demanded.

Before anyone could say anything else, a phone in one of the duffel bags rang. It was a duffle bag that belonged to Bobby. They all turned to look at it for a moment. Sam looked up at Dean questioningly.

"Well, I'm not getting it." he said simply.

Sam sighed heavily and took the phone out, checking the caller ID before frowning and flipping it open.

"Hello?" he asked as Elena and Dean continued to glance over the wall of Leviathan news.

"Is Bobby Singer there?"

His frown grew deeper when he heard the voice on the other end.

"Uh, no. He's, uh... I-I-it's not, but I'm a friend of his." He stammered.

"My dad asked me to call Bobby Singer specifically." The young girl's voice said.

"He's... not here, but, look, if you need s…"

He was cut off when she hung up. He huffed and closed the phone, staring down at it.

"Who was it?" Dean asked, turning to glance back at him as he put the phone back in the bag.

"Just some kid." Sam answered.

"For Bobby?" the other brother said, confused.

"Girl scout cookies?" Elena said, sipping at a beer in her hand.

"I think maybe..."

Sam looked up to see Dean pick up a full bottle of beer from the table.

"Maybe a-a hunter's kid? I mean, she sounded pretty scared. You know, I have a caller ID. Maybe we should go find her. We… we can check on her." he suggested.

"What about Frank?" Dean said, staring at him.

"Well, Dean, I think we should go find this girl first." Sam said, looking unbelievingly at him.

"Sam, Frank's been working on the numbers that Bobby spent his last breath on, and you want to back-burner that?" Dean said.

Sam just stared back at him.

"Fine. You go check out girl scout. I'll find Frank." Dean said.

"Fine. But you know what? On one condition… if Frank is just spinning his wheels, then you bail out on crazy and come meet me." Sam fired back.

"What am I going to do?" Elena said, sitting down and crossing her legs.

"Whatever you want." Dean replied, looking down at the beer bottle in his hand. He sighed heavily and glared up at Sam. "And thanks for drinking my entire beer."

Sam glared back.

"I didn't touch your beer. Mine's right there." he pointed at the full beer on the counter. "You probably drank it without noticing."

"Right." Dean scoffed.

* * *

Sam glanced down at his phone, checking the address on it before knocking on the apartment door. There was only silence that greeted him.

"Hello? Um, we... spoke on the phone earlier?"

The door opened slightly, the chain lock still on it, to reveal a young woman staring back at him.

"Hi. Uh... I'm Sam. You sounded like you needed help, and I was in the area."

"How'd you find me?" she demanded.

"Your dad is in Bobby's address book." Sam replied.

"So where is he?" the girl asked.

"Bobby? He, uh..." Sam hesitated, sighing. "He's passed away. Look, um…"

"Krissy." She volunteered after he stopped with questioning look.

"Krissy. I get it. You don't let strangers in. But if your dad said you could trust Bobby, then you can trust me, too." Sam assured her.

She stared at him for a moment before slamming the door shut. Sam waited as she unlocked the chain and opened the door again.

"Just so you know, 911's on speed-dial. One button." She threatened, holding up her cell phone.

"Yeah, sure. Note taken." Sam nodded, stepping into the apartment.

"So... you're a salesman, too?" she asked as he glanced around.

"Yep. So your dad's on the road right now? Been gone a while?" he asked.

"He usually calls every night." Krissy replied, sounding nervous as she rocked back and forth on her heels.

"How long has it been?" Sam said.

"Five days." She sighed.

"It's just you and him, huh? I know how that is. Look, um..." Sam tried to look comfortingly. "Sometimes on the road, crap happens. So I'll help you track him down."

"Really?" she asked, sounding hopeful.

"Course." He nodded. "Did he happen to say where he was going?"

"Said he had a couple leads near Dodge City." She said.

"And does he have a desk or something where he keeps his stuff?"

Krissy led Sam into another room, pointing at a desk with a few loose pieces of paper and notebooks. He turned to glance at the young woman.

"Do you mind making some coffee?" Krissy nodded and he smiled at her. "Thanks."

Once she was gone, Sam began rifling through the desk only to find nothing. Then he glanced in the closet, automatically spotting something behind the clothes. He pushed them to the side and saw a research board with missing persons notices all centered on a truck stop. He took pictures with his phone before fixing the clothes and walking out.

"Krissy."

He walked towards the kitchen to find her pouring coffee.

"Hey, listen, so I think I got an idea where to start. So I'm gonna go. Um... can I borrow this?"

He held up a framed photo of her and her dad.

"Yeah." She nodded, looking relieved that he had a lead.

"Thanks. Here." He handed her a piece of paper with Dean's number. "Here's a number, in case you don't hear from me in the next couple days. Don't worry. I promise I'll check in."

"Don't say that." Krissy said, looking sad again. "That's what my dad said."

* * *

Dean looked out of the windshield as he drove up to the broken down house.

"Well this is just as lovely as it was the last time I was here." Elena remarked as they climbed out.

"Yeah try not to attack him this time." Dean said, handing her a gun from the back.

"No promises." She replied, taking it as they walked up to the house.

They walked through with their guns drawn. The rooms were all empty, of both Frank and all of the stuff that he had piled in there last time they were there.

"This can't be good." Dean muttered.

"No shit, Sherlock." Elena fired back.

They both heard the sound of a gun cocking and they whirled around, pointing their guns at Frank, who was pointing a shotgun in return.

"Well... hi." Dean said.

Frank didn't reply, glaring between them.

"Frank... we're amongst friends here." The other man scoffed at the hunter's words. "Okay, acquaintances."

"That's just what a Leviathan would say." Frank fired back, shocking them both as their eyes widened.

"Frank. we're not Leviathans." Dean said, furrowing his brow.

"Oh, sure. You're not Leviathans. Dick Roman's not a Leviathan. Gwyneth Paltrow is not a Leviathan."

They both considered his words.

"Gwyneth Paltrow?" Elena questioned.

"Trust me." Frank nodded, glaring at her.

"Okay. You know what, Frank? I think you've been doing a little too much research." Dean sighed.

"They're anywhere, anyone. Who's to say this ain't the day they come for old Frank who knew too much?" he demanded.

Dean rolled his eyes as Elena looked impatient.

"They bleed black goo, right? You want to see what I bleed?"

Dean pointed his shotgun at Dean's foot and Elena cocked her own gun threateningly.

"Oh! Whoa, whoa, whoa! Let's take the guns out of it, okay?" Dean said quickly, his eyes widening at both of their actions.

"Okay." Frank said after a moment.

Dean looked at Elena with a raised eyebrow.

"Fine." She rolled her eyes and put her gun back on the table behind her and Dena did the same. Dean pulled his switchknife out of his pocket and pulled his sleeve up. They watched as he cut into his forearm to reveal red blood dripping down his arm. Frank finally lowered his gun when he saw it.

"See? Red-blooded American."

Dean wiped the knife on his sleeve and handed it over to Elena.

"Seriously?" she snapped, glaring at him.

"Just… so he doesn't shoot you." he sighed.

"If he shoots me I'll rip his…"

Dean cleared his throat and she sighed heavily, taking the knife. She held her palm out and cut it, glaring at Frank as her blood dripped onto the ground. Then she wiped her blood off on her sleeve.

"Now..." Dean said as Elena held the knife out to Frank.

"Your turn." She said, sounding too happy about it.

"Oh! Whoa. Look, I'm obviously not…" Frank began.

"Fair's fair, douchebag." Dean snapped.

Frank took the knife, grimacing as he made a cut on his own palm and handed the knife back to Dean when nothing strange happened.

"I'm glad we could share that together." Dean remarked, putting the knife away.

"Grab your guns, come with me. For God's sake, don't make any noise." Frank snapped, turning to walk out.

* * *

"Why the downsize?" Dean asked as they walked up to a trailer that was an hour minute drive from the house.

"You!" Frank snapped. "Hey, Frank, go dig up some dirt on Richard Roman. That night, I was burned off every IP I had. Ears on my phones, eyes on my house..."

"Wait… Dick's got people watching you?" Dean asked once they walked inside the trailer.

"Do I look like I know? You think it's easy to see this deep into what's real and also be bipolar with delusional ideation? There is no pill for my situation, sweetiepop, so, yeah, best guess… the bigmouths are onto me. Next question."

"All right. Well, what's the word on the bigmouths?"

"Their tentacles are everywhere. I-I'm looking at bankers, military high-ups..."

"This is why you didn't call me back." Dean demanded.

"Hey, cut me some slack. You called me like four days ago." Frank scoffed, sitting down in front of about ten monitors on the wall of the trailer.

"He called you three weeks ago, Frank." Elena said, sitting in a chair.

"What? No. Really?" he asked.

Elena and Dean nodded at the same time.

"Days, weeks… quit busting my chops." Frank said, rolling his eyes.

"What, are you kidding me?" Dean demanded.

"You cool your heels, Buster Brown." Frank scoffed.

"Frank, I paid you fifteen grand for this." Dean said.

"Fifteen grand?" Elena questioned, looking at Dean incredulously.

"Yeah, I get that…" Frank sighed.

"No, you don't get that!" Dean yelled, ignoring Elena's disbelieving look. "Dick Roman is every card in my hit deck. You understand that? Those numbers, they got something to do with him, okay? Bobby died for those numbers!"

They all remained silent for a moment, allowing Dean to calm down.

"Look, I'm sorry about Bobby. I really am. You know, this one time, we were in Fresno, and we got stuck…"

"No. No, no, no." Dean cut the other man off. "I'm not gonna play 'this one time with Bobby' crap, all right? I'm not gonna get all warm and fuzzy with somebody else who barely knew him."

"Just trying to make friendly conversation." Frank shrugged.

"This is not a friendship, Frank. I'm paying you!"

"Hey. You know what you need? A little LSD, a little shiatsu…" Frank began to suggest.

"I'm out of here." Dean scoffed, turning towards the door.

"Hey, you want to know what those numbers are?" Frank stopped Dean. "Bupkis. They're not lottery numbers, license…"

"I know that, Frank. Thank you." Dean snapped, turning back to him.

Elena remained silent, watching their exchange with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Which leaves us little else to do but probability generate." Frank continued.

"Come again?" Dean asked.

Frank gestured for him to sit beside him at the computers.

"You run most reasonable possibilities for a Levi-related five-digit number written by a dying drunk, you come up flat. Know what you start to wonder? Hey, maybe I'm missing a number."

"Well, how do you figure?" he questioned.

"Oh, I don't know. Because Bobby was dying of brain trauma. I just had a tickle there was a reason nothing was popping out at us, so I set up a program to run possibilities for six numbers, seven, eight. But good news." Frank said, sounding pleased.

"Good news?" Dean said.

"Never had to go past six, because these... my little lambs, are coordinates." He said happily.

"You sure?" Dean asked at the same time as Elena said. "To what?"

"A field in Wisconsin." Frank said, sitting back.

"No. No, Bobby didn't give us coordinates to some patch of weeds in Cheeseville." Dean said, shaking his head.

"No, he gave you coordinates to a parcel recently purchased by Willman, Inc., a subsidiary of…" he paused for dramatic effect. "Richard Roman Enterprises."

They both leaned forward, their eyes lit up with realization.

"So what do we do?" Dean asked.

"Stay away." Frank said simply, looking over at their matching unimpressed faces. "Or, if we're stupid... we go there and set up surveillance."

* * *

"Matthew Havlena… found in a ditch off the interstate." The coroner said as he uncovered the body for Sam.

"Cause of death?" he asked.

"Missing five pints of blood can't have helped. Puncture wounds… femoral arteries and carotid." The doctor said, pointing to a bite on his neck.

"So, what? Some kind of animal attack?" Sam questioned.

"Or a vampire." the morgue attendant answered.

Sam looked up at him without smiling.

"Huh. That... usually gets at least a chuckle." The man said, shrugging.

Several minutes later, he was walking out of the hospital as he talked to Dean on the phone.

"Find Frank?" he asked.

"Yeah. Those numbers? Coordinates. Dick bought some land. We're headed there now." Dean answered over the phone.

"Wait, wait, wait. You're just gonna drive right up to…" Sam said, shocked.

"Relax. It's a field, not the Death Star. Dick's at a TED Conference. It's all over The Huffington Post." Dean assured him.

Sam scoffed.

"Since when do you read?"

"Know your enemy, Sam. What's going on with the girl?" his brother questioned.

"I don't think she even knows her dad's in the life. So far, I got three missing truckers and one blood-free body." Sam answred.

"Good times." Dean sighed. "All right, well, keep me posted."

* * *

"You coming with?" Dean asked as Elena sat back in a chair in the trailer and twirled her knife in her hand.

"What, with you and Milton William Cooper to a field that Dick Roman happened to buy. Count me in." she said with a roll of her eyes.

"What are you going to do?" Dean asked.

"Go to Disney World." She replied dryly.

He huffed and stared at her.

"I'll stay here. I'm sure there's something to amuse me in this trailer of crazy." Elena said, glancing around.

"You could go, I don't know… see your friends and family in Mystic Falls."

She glared at him, angry that he was bringing this up again.

"Not happening." She said simply.

"Why?" he demanded.

"Because of reasons that I don't have to explain to you. Get over it." she said simply.

Dean opened his mouth to argue but Frank opened the door at that moment.

"Got the equipment arranged. Come and get your costume on. We can scoot." He said before shooting a suspicious look at Elena and walking away.

Elena let out a laugh at Dean's stunned look.

"Costume? What?"

* * *

"What the hell's so special about this place?" Dean asked as they walked up to the field in electrician clothing.

"I love a mystery. Now get up in that cherry picker and act like you're fixing something." Frank said, pointing at the cage that lifts workers up to work on power lines.

"I don't know how to drive that thing." Dean scoffed.

"You think I do?" Frank fired back.

"Well, why do I got to be the sap that…"

Frank interrupted him, pointing to his own uniform.

"This one says manager. That one says technician." Dean scoffed as he looked down at his uniform. "Sometime this month?"

"Come on." Dean shook a little as he raised himself up, not looking down as he clipped his safety harness onto the cherry picker and moved it up.

"Okay... up… moving…"

He hesitated, waiting for word from Frank who was looking at the field through binoculars.

"Oh, crap. Come on down, Tarzan!" the other man yelled up at him.

"What?" Dean called back.

"Get down here!"

Dean carefully lowered himself. When he got down, Frank was waiting.

"We need to move. They got this place wired up the wazoo."

"They're watching us right now?" he asked, his eyes widening.

"Nah, nah, they're just watching Cheech and Ed from Ma Bell." Frank said sarcastically.

"You know, it's gonna be a little difficult to set up surveillance if there's, uh, surveillance everywhere." Dean commented.

"Right. So we need to tap into theirs instead." Frank said with a grin.

* * *

Elena glanced up as Dean and Frank walked in. Her finger was tracing the black mark on her wrist.

"All right, now what?" Dean asked as Frank sat at his computers and began typing away at them.

"You look horrific." Frank said, causing Dean to stare at him strangely. "When was the last time you really slept a night?"

"Let's just work, all right?" he snapped.

A few screens lit up with video images of the field as Dean sat in a chair and leaned back, his eyes fluttering as Elena continued tracing her wrist.

"This is it. We watch the screens." Frank told them. "I can take the first shift. You're no use if you can't even..."

Both Elena and Frank looked over to see that Dean already dozed off.

"… keep your eyes open." the man sighed.

* * *

Sam's brow furrowed when Dean's phone went straight to voicemail.

"Dean, hey." He sat in the stolen car and flipped through John's journal. "So I think this guy was hunting a Vetala. Um, Dad took one down back in the day. Silver knife to the heart, twist, they're done. He says they're maladjusted loner types… like to knock a guy out, drag him home, feed slow. So, if Krissy's dad got grabbed, there's a chance he might still be alive. Be nice to get this girl's dad back home to her, you know? All right, I could use your help. Call me."

He hung up the phone and shoved it to the side before climbing out of the car and walking into the diner at the truck stop where the activity was centralized.

"Excuse me. Your manager said that you might be able to help me." he said to a waitress once he talked to the main manager.

"Sure. What can I do for you?" the woman, Marlene, answered.

Sam held up the photo of Krissy's father.

"You ever see this man?" he asked.

"I... might have served him the other day. I think he may have gone to talk to that girl out there." she pointed at a suggestively dressed woman who was talking to a trucker.

"Thanks." Sam said before walking out of the diner again.

"Hey! Can I talk to you for a second, uh..." he looked at her necklace when she turned around looking hesitant. "Sally? You ever see this man?"

He held up the picture and the woman's eyes widened.

"No." she said immediately.

"You sure?" he said, doubting her answer.

"It's not safe here." Sally whispered, leaning in close. "Somewhere private."

Sam walked behind her through a maze of eighteen wheelers until they were alone.

"Something's happening around here. I'm afraid I'll be next." She whispered.

"Tell me what you saw." Sam said.

"I don't know what I saw." Sally hissed.

He heard someone approaching him and slowly drew a knife. When he turned, he saw Marlene standing there. She grabbed his wrist and throat, shoving him against a truck. Sam dropped the knife and choked.

"Sally, run!" he sputtered.

He turned to see that Sally's pupils were catlike and her teeth were pointed. She kicked at his legs and he dropped ot his knees. Marlene held his head still as Sally bent over and sunk her teeth into his neck.

* * *

Elena's head snapped up, her eyes widening when her instincts flared up.

"Let him sleep, Frank." She said simply, disappearing.

When she landed, she glanced around to see that she was in a warehouse. There were several unconscious men tied up in chairs and hanging from chains all around her. Her eyes fell on Sam and she sighed, walking to him.

"Well at least you're not dead yet." She said simply, tilting his limp head to the side to inspect the bite wound on his neck.

One of the other men stirred, his eyes opening slightly. They immediately fell on her and he looked hopeful and panicked.

"H-help… help…" he whispered hoarsely as he hung limply in his chains.

"Sorry, I'm not your hero." Elena said before concentrating and forcing herself to become invisible to the human eye while still remaining in the room to wait.

* * *

Dean woke up in the chair with a start, staring around to see that Elena was gone and Frank was still staring at the screens.

"How long was I out?" he groaned.

"Bout 36 hours." Frank answered.

"What? Why didn't you wake me? Where's Elena?"

"Not your butler. She left. Come see this." Frank said, dragging his chair over.

"What?" Dean demanded.

"This is where it gets good." He answered.

He zoomed in on a parked car where two people were kissing in the front seat.

"Frank, you need to get out more." Dean sighed.

"Not that." Frank pointed to a woman walking across the field and zoomed in on her.

She was carrying documents and a walkie-talkie.

"Check out Sarah Palin."

"Who is she?" Dean questioned.

"Amanda Willer." Frank said, hitting a key.

Her file came up, showing that she was an employee of Roman enterprises.

"Surprise, surprise… works for Richard Roman."

He hit another key and the screen showed three men in uniforms walking towards Amanda.

"What was she doing?" Dean asked.

"Being a naughty, bossy little girl." Frank said, smirking.

"Well, I hate to ask for that in the non-porno version." Dean said, rolling his eyes.

"They're surveying. They're getting ready to build something." Frank answered.

"Build what?" Dean replied.

"Exactly. What?" Frank shrugged. "No idea."

"Well, how do we find out?" the hunter said.

"We watch. Patience, grasshopper." Frank said as they watched the men take position on the field.

"Yeah, patience and me aren't exactly on terms." He grumbled.

"Well, then go out and kill something or whatever you kids do to blow off steam." Dean glared at him and Frank raised an eyebrow at him. "What, you don't like my suggestion?"

"I don't think you're in a position to be giving suggestions, all right? I think you're one tinfoil hat away from a rubber room." Dean snapped.

"Did I mention you look awful?" Frank said, grinning.

"Yes. Maybe because somebody I cared about just got shot in the head. And my girlfriend is… all kinds of messed up. And this is like shoving a rock up a hill. And… screw you!"

"Here's my advice you didn't ask for… quit." Sam said, turning to face the computer.

"What?!" Dean demanded.

"You want to keep going?" Frank asked, surprised.

"I want Dick Roman on a spit." He shot back.

"But you're gonna drive yourself into the ground first. Good plan." Frank scoffed.

Dean paused, shaking his head.

"I'm not gonna quit. It's not even an option. I'm not gonna walk out on my brother… or Elena."

"Okay, then, fine. Do what I did." he said.

"What? Go native? Stock up on C-rations?" Dean said, glancing around the trailer.

"No, cupcake. What I did when I was twenty-six and came home to find my wife and two kids gutted on the floor. Decide to be fine till the end of the week. Make yourself smile because you're alive and that's your job. Then do it again the next week."

Dean felt regret and pity for the man in front of him, sighing.

"So fake it?" he asked.

"I call it being professional. Do it right, with a smile, or don't do it."

Dean's phone buzzed and he picked it up, noticing a recorded message from Sam. He typed in his voicemail and held it to his ear.

"Dean, hey. So I think this guy was hunting a Vetala. Um, Dad took one down back in the day…"

His eyes widened and he began to panic.

"No, no, no. Sam, that's not right." he said, scrambling to stand.

"What's the guff?" Frank questioned.

"He…"

Dean was cut off by more of the message.

"... says they're maladjusted loner types… like to knock a guy out, drag him home…"

Suddenly his phone beeped and he pressed the talk button.

"Sam?" he said quickly.

"No. Who's this?" a young woman's voice asked.

"Who's this?" Dean demanded in return.

"Sam told me to call if I didn't hear anything back from him." she said, sounding worried.

Dean's heart pounded as he panicked.

* * *

Sam jerked awake to find himself tied to a chair. He glanced around to see two dead men lying on the ground and another man that he recognized tied in a chair as well.

"That ringing in your ears… it's from the venom." Krissy's father said.

"Venom?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. They hit you with some kind of knockout juice." He said, then he squinted at Sam. "You seem to be handling this pretty well."

"Yeah. Well, um... I was out there looking for you. Lee Chambers?" Sam questioned.

He nodded, looking confused.

"I'm a friend of Bobby Singer's. Krissy called. She… she's fine. She is. She's just worried about you." Sam assured him. "So how do we get out of here?"

"I guess I could help you."

Lee flinched and closed his eyes.

"It's the hallucinations. She keeps appearing."

Sam looked around to see Elena sitting on a table swinging her legs back and forth.

"Sorry, I'm having fun messing with this guy." She said, grinning.

"Elena?" Sam said.

Lee opened his eyes and stared at Sam.

"You see her too?" he asked, shocked.

"Yeah, she's really there. Elena help us." Sam said, struggling with the binds.

"Oh you're not dead yet, Sammy. I don't have to save that guy. We still have some time." she said, sliding off of the table and walking to the window.

"Lee, how do we get out?" Sam said desperately, forgetting about her stubbornness.

"I don't know. They'll be back pretty quick here." Lee said as he watched Elena warily.

"Just the two of them?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, they're a tag team. One of them knocks you out. The other one dumps your rig or your ride or whatever miles down the road. It's a pretty nice system they got." He said.

"They've been draining you." Sam realized, seeing the bite marks on him.

"Yeah. They tap you three, four times, you're dead. And let me tell you... you can't see... you can't walk. I thought they'd kill me right off, but they don't have to. They got nothing to worry about." Lee explained.

"How many times they fed on you?" Sam asked.

Elena glanced back at them.

"Three." The hunter sighed.

* * *

"Did Sam tell you where he was going?" Krissy asked as Dean walked into the apartment.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out. What did you tell him?" Dean asked.

"Uh... he checked my dad's room." she said, shrugging.

"There?" Dean pointed to an open door.

"Yeah." She nodded.

He walked into the room and looked around before seeing Krissy standing in the doorway.

"Look, I really don't have time to hold your hand here, so…" he trailed off.

"What are you saying?" she demanded.

"I'm saying go wait in the living room. Your dad may not want you to know every single thing about him." he said.

Krissy leaned on the doorway and put a hand on her hip. He rolled his eyes and turned, opening Lee's closet to look behind the hanging clothes. Only the corner of a map was pinned to the board. Dean groaned and turned to look at the teenager.

"Where is it?" he demanded.

"You mean everything about the job my dad was working?" Krissy replied.

"Sam said you didn't know." He said, confused.

"Sam seemed competent, so I figured, fine… I'll do what my dad always tells me to. Be a regular kid, don't say anything, stay out of the line of fire. Let the adults work it out. So much for that." she scoffed.

"All right. Hand it over. Okay? I have had a long, long week." Dean said.

Krissy pulled out a gun and pointed it at Dean. He glared back at her.

"All right, I get it. You're a tough kid. But I'm trying to get Sam and your dad back." he snapped.

"My dad left, and he didn't come back. Sam left, and he didn't come back. I give you the info, you leave, you don't come back." Krissy accused.

"I'm coming back." he assured her.

"I'm coming with you." she said.

"N-no. No. Hell, no!"

"I'm coming! Or you're not going." She said, cocking the gun.

Dean rolled his eyes and snatched it out of her hand, throwing it to the floor.

"Ow!" she complained.

"Now hand it over." He growled.

"I can't. I burned it." she said triumphantly.

"You what?" he demanded.

"But lucky for you, I memorized it all first." Krissy said, smirking.

* * *

Dean glared at the road as he drove.

"Hey, I have a question." Krissy said, turning to him.

"All right, here's the deal. I'm a fun guy. I'm actually awesome. Okay?" Krissy gave Dean a doubtful look. "But right now, I'm not in the mood. I'm neck deep in some serious crap, and if this wasn't an emergency, I would drop your ass off at the nearest mall."

"What serious crap?" she asked.

"Revenge crap, all right? Now shut up. Eat a cookie or something." Dean snapped.

Krissy rolled her eyes, putting her headphones in her ears. After a moment, she took them out.

"One thing doesn't make sense, though." Dean sighed heavily and shook his head. "My dad's a pretty great hunter, and your brother's the size of a car, so... so how'd this thing get 'em both?"

"Vetalas usually hunt in pairs. Sam and your dad both assumed it was one thing hunting solo." Dean explained.

"Why'd they think that?" Krissy asked.

"Because they had the wrong info. Or, best available. Our dad took down a loner years ago. Sam has his journal. Your dad must've been going on the same facts." He answered.

"And you know different cause...?" she pushed.

"Because I hunted one that turned out to be two a couple years back." Dean said.

"And you never told Sam?" she demanded. "Wow, thanks. How bout sharing that with the rest of the class so we don't all get killed?"

Dean glared over at her.

"Sam was away at Stanford, smartass."

"Sam went to college?" Krissy asked, surprised. "I thought you said your dad was a hunter."

"He was. We were." Dean sighed. "Sam quit, went to college."

Silence reigned in the car as Krissy processed the information.

"You could, too, you know… go to college. Be a hunter slash pediatrician." Dean suggested.

* * *

Sam's head snapped up when he heard a sound. He looked over to where Elena was standing but she wasn't there, either invisible or gone. The scantily clad Vetala walked into the room with a grin.

"Hunter day at the all-you-can-eat. How's everyone feeling? Good?" she asked with a grin.

Neither of them responded, both glaring at her.

"Strong silent. Fine." Sally said, walking to Lee. "I don't need much entertainment with my meal."

She leaned down, her mouth hovering over his neck as she was about to feed.

"Hey, Sally, uh, did I tell you about the Vetalas I took down in Utah?" Sam asked, trying to stall her. "Yeah. You remind me of them. Except they were so much... younger."

Sally lifted her head and turned, moving over to him with anger in her eyes.

"I tied 'em up. Not because I had to. More so... I could take my time." Sam said with a smirk.

"You're lying." she accused.

"No. I just want you to know how much I enjoyed cutting up your sisters." Sam shrugged.

"Shut up!" Sally screamed, grabbing his hair and sinking her teeth into his neck.

* * *

"You ever actually work with your dad?" Dean asked as they sat outside the diner waiting.

"Sure. Course." Krissy shrugged.

"No, I mean work, not shoot cans in the woods." He said.

"I mean, I help all the time." she answered, trying to sound casual.

"So, no." Dean guessed. "Well, right about now, your stomach should be pretty knotted up."

"Not really. Look, maybe this was a lot harder for you when you were my age." Krissy said, smirking over at him.

"Oh, you think you're a good actress. You're not." He said.

"What are you talking about?" she demanded.

"Well, I hate to break it to you, but it's all over your face… you're scared."

"Quit treating me like I'm some girl. I've been prepping for this my entire life." Krissy snapped, getting angry.

"Training's one thing. Doing… whole 'nother beast." Dean said, shaking his head.

"Wow. You really scared me straight. Thanks, Dean." She said sarcastically.

A laugh sounded from the backseat and they both whirled around to see Elena sprawled across the seat.

"I like here. Where did you find her?" she asked.

"What the hell?" Krissy exclaimed, her eyes widening.

"It's all right, she's… with us. What the hell are you doing here? Shouldn't you be helping Sam?" Dean demanded.

"He's not dead yet, I have time." she shrugged.

Dean stared at her with disbelief.

"You know I can't wait for someone to burn the bitch out of you." he snapped.

Elena smirked at him.

"Tell me how you really feel, baby." She winked at him.

"You know you're acting just like Katherine."

She laughed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Is that the best you can do?" Elena said.

"If you're not going to help, go away." He snapped.

"Your wish... my command. Call me when you're in mortal peril." Elena said before disappearing.

Krissy gaped over at Dean and he shook his head.

"That conversation isn't happening." He warned her.

She gave him an annoyed look and turned to look at the parking lot. Then she noticed something, sitting up a little straighter.

"Why is that waitress getting into that truck?"

"I'm not explaining the R-rated crap to you." Dean scoffed, turning away.

"The front of the truck, not the back, Dean." Krissy shot back.

Dean sat up a little straighter, watching as the waitress drove the eighteen wheeler away. They followed her to a warehouse and he grinned as they pulled to a stop.

"All right." he said triumphantly, holding his fist out to Krissy.

She raised her eyebrow at him.

"What century is this? No one fist-bumps anymore." she informed him.

"Come on. Give it up. Good work!" Dean wiggled his fist at her.

"You're a dweeb." Krissy accused him.

He grinned and wiggled his fist again. Krissy sighed, finally putting her hand out. Dean quickly grabbed it and slapped handcuffs on her wrist.

"What the hell?" she demanded.

"I got an idea."

He attached the other end of the handcuffs to the steering wheel.

"How 'bout you stay here?" he said.

"Oh, you jackass." Krissy snapped.

"Yeah, well, I'm the jackass who ain't bringing a kid in there, period." Dean replied.

"Why? I can do everything you can do." She said, looking pissed.

"I'll bring them back. Trust me." he promised her.

"Please, they're probably dead." Krissy scoffed.

"No, they're not."

"It's been days. Probably just a pile of meat. I've seen it. People die, Dean. I watched my mom get torn to shreds. Let me go in there and kill them." Krissy pleaded.

"No. Sorry." He said, shaking his head.

"You're such a hypocrite! How come you get to do it and I don't?" she yelled.

"Because I'm the grown-up!"

Dean held out his hand.

"Give it to me." he said.

"What?" she snapped.

"Your lock pick. I will frisk you." he warned her.

Krissy sighed heavily before handing it over to him.

"Thank you."

He got out of the car and walked off, leaving her alone.

"I know." Krissy jumped and turned to see Elena in the backseat. "He can be a real dick but he's right."

"Who the hell are you?" she demanded.

"Elena. Your name is Krissy and you aren't prepared for this hunting thing." Elena answered.

"Why don't you let me go and I'll show you how good I am when I kill you! What are you?" Krissy demanded.

Elena laughed.

"You aren't going to kill me, honey, trust me. There are only two weapons that can kill me and you don't have access to either."

Krissy turned, glaring out of the windshield.

"Dean is pretty and he can be smart a lot but sometimes he forgets that not everyone needs a fancy lock pick…" Krissy jumped when Elena pulled something out of her hair and showed it to her. "… to get out of a lock."

The teenager's eyes widened when she saw the hairpin.

* * *

Dean concentrated as he picked the lock of the building with the lockpick he stole from Krissy. As soon as he entered, he saw several dead men strewn around. Then he saw Sam and Krissy's father tied up to chairs as well as a third man. The waitress and another woman were standing next to the chairs. When he saw that Sam was unconscious, Dean's hands clenched into fists.

**"**Good thing we picked up a new one. This one's about tapped out. Sally, you want to finish him together?" Marlene said, staring down at Lee.

"Sure, Marlene. Love to." The other woman said, walking over.

Dean grabbed a metal bar and launched forward, slamming it over Sally's head. He drew his knife and bent over.

"Not so fast."

He whirled around and swung at Marlene. She ducked the knife and punched him, forcing him to drop the knife. Just as she swung him against the metal cage that held the dead bodies of the men, he reached out and grasped a metal bar, slamming it into her head. She fell to the ground and he grasped his knife, hovering over her. Just as he did so, he saw a blur run by.

"Dad, hold on… I got you!"

Dean's eyes flashed up in time ot see Sally grab Krissy.

"No!" Lee shouted as Sally pulled Krissy to her chest and held onto her from behind.

Dean held his knife to Marlene's throat as the monster's teeth descended.

"Let her go... or Little Miss Sunshine here gets it." Sally threatened.

Dean hesitated for a moment before taking his knife away from Marlene's throat. Sam was awake, watching the scene with slightly glazed eyes as blood dripped from his wound. Marlene leapt up and ran to stand behind Lee safely away from Dean.

"What were you thinking, bringing her here?" Lee demanded, glaring up at Dean as Krissy looked panicked and fearful.

Dean moved forward towards Sally and Krissy.

"Now drop the knife!" Sally demanded.

He bent down, setting the knife on the floor.

"She's just a child. Let her go." he said calmly.

"Yeah, I don't think we'll be letting anyone go." Sally snapped at him, tightening her grip on Krissy's throat.

"Daddy..." Krissy whimpered.

"It's okay, baby. Everything's gonna be fine." Lee said, his voice shaking slightly.

"All right. Enough with the family bonding. It's time for you to shut up."

Marlene bent over and sank her teeth into his neck.

"Daddy, no! Dean!" Krissy screamed, struggling.

"He can't help you. No one can." Sally said tauntingly, grinning at Dean.

"I guess I'll have to help myself, then." Krissy said, suddenly sounding confident.

Just as she pulled a dagger out of her sleeve, Marlene let out a choked cry and jerked away from Lee. Sally turned with horror as her fellow monster's body dropped to the ground. Elena watched with triumph as her body turned grey and she withered up. Krissy shoved the knife into Sally's back, causing the other Vetala to fall.

Dean sighed and relaxed, moving over to Sam once he retrieved his knife. Elena watched as he freed Sam and Krissy freed Lee.

"Bad actress, huh?" the teenager asked, raising her eyebrow at Dean.

"Yeah, I take it back." he allowed, staring up at Elena who was watching the scene with a bored expression as if she'd rather be anywhere else.

* * *

Sam and Dean gave Krissy matching slight smiles before they walked into the hospital room to find Lee lying in the bed.

"Yeah, I was hoping you'd stop by. I wanted to thank you." the hunter said, pushing himself up to a sitting position as they stood at the end of the bed.

"It's no problem." Sam waved off.

"No, you saved my life. Krissy's, too." Lee said, looking grateful.

"Actually, uh, she kind of saved ours." Sam said, smiling slightly.

"Don't thank us. Quit. Your daughter's 14 years old. She's already a hunter with a-a kill under her belt. I'm not trying to be a dick, but what do you think that does to her life span? She could still be a regular kid." Dean said, trying to encourage Lee to give his daughter a normal life.

"You know, I got into this for a reason." The other man said, squinting at Dean.

"I know. Your family. That's the same reason you should get out now." He replied.

"I can't. You ever know anyone who left the life?" Lee asked, glancing between them.

"No. They all get killed first." Dean said blatantly.

That caused Lee to hesitate in answering, his mind running through the information as he considered it.

"Well, uh... we should probably let you get some rest." Sam sighed.

"Yeah." Lee nodded, raising a hand to wave goodbye. "But wait… where's that girl, the one who helped us too. I wanted to thank her."

Dean and Sam exchanged looks.

"We'll pass it on." Dean said simply.

* * *

As they walked out of the hospital, a shout caused them to turn.

"Dean!" Krissy ran up to them. "Thanks for saying bye, asshat."

Sam let out a chuckle before moving past Dean to walk to the car.

"Oh, what? Now you're sentimental?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No. Just wanted to tell you that you're kind of amusing for an old man." Krissy said with a smirk.

Dean shook his head as he smiled.

"How'd you get out of them cuffs, anyway?" he asked.

Krissy's eyes slid past him and he looked to see Elena leaning against the Impala with crossed arms and sunglasses on her face that hid her expression. She hadn't been there before, Dean was certain of it. He gave her a suspicious look.

"Girl's got to have her secrets." Krissy said, regaining his attention.

He turned back to her and his eyes flashed up to her head to see two hairpins holding her hair back.

"Bobby pin." Dean sighed. "You know, you could've gotten yourself killed."

"I saved your bacon." She fired back.

"My point stands. But yes." Dean nodded.

"So..." Krissy sighed, shifting her feet. "… guess I'm retiring… one and done."

"Really? How you feel about that?" Dean asked, trying to sound surprised.

"Who knows?" she shrugged. "Maybe I'll go to Stanford like Sam."

Dean gave her a slight smile and she rolled her eyes, holding her hand out for him to bump. He grinned wider and followed suit, pressing their knuckles together for a moment.

"We're so lame." Krissy said, sounding amused.

"Yeah, we are." Dean agreed. "Take care of yourself."

He turned away and walked to the car. As soon as Krissy was gone and out of eyeshot, his grin faded and he stared at Elena.

"Am I in trouble?" she asked when she saw his frown.

"You let her out, didn't you?" he demanded.

"Why would I do that? You said so yourself, she's just a kid. A sneaky one at that." Elena said.

"Why didn't you rescue Sam before? He told me you were there. You left him!" Dean snapped as Sam climbed out of the car to stop their confrontation.

"Dean…" his brother sighed, touching his shoulder.

"No!" Dean shrugged him off. "Don't you give a shit about anything?"

Elena pushed herself off of the car, glaring back at him as she ripped off her sunglasses.

"Haven't you been paying attention, Dean? If it weren't for this…" she held up her wrist to show off of the black mark on it. "… I would be long gone! I'm not your Elena anymore! I'm not here to do anything more than I have to in order to keep my ass alive. So no, I don't give a shit about anything! Stop expecting me to take bullets for you, that's not my job anymore!"

Dean glared at her before shaking his head and scoffing.

"What the hell happened to you?" he demanded.

"You know what happened to me. Now if you don't mind, I'd rather you pretend like I'm not here." Elena snapped before climbing into the back of the Impala.

Dean sighed and scrubbed his hands down his face as he turned away.

"Dean, it'll be okay." Sam said quietly.

"Yeah? When?" Dean said roughly, looking back at his brother.

"Gabriel said…"

"I know what Gabriel said… but you know what? I don't trust the dick." Dean snapped as the archangel's words from three weeks ago echoed through his head.

* * *

_**THREE WEEKS AGO**_

_Elena stepped forward, dropping her dagger and holding her hands up._

"_Take me away, boys." She said, smirking at them._

_They all looked at her with uncertainty, wondering why she wasn't attempting to escape._

"_Where the hell have you been?" Dean demanded._

_Gabriel's eyes slid to them and he snapped his fingers, causing their binds to fall off. Elena glanced back at them before shrugging and turning to face the archangels._

"_We've been otherwise engaged." Michael said simply._

"_Otherwise engaged? What the hell does that mean? You've been sitting on your heavenly asses while the world's been going to shit?! Cas is dead!"_

_Elena flinched at the words, the only real reaction they'd been able to get out of her so far. _

"_There are Leviathans everywhere! They've had Elena for months and you've been hiding away!" Dean yelled._

_Gabriel and Michael stared at him, their faces devoid of emotion. Elena let out a laugh, shaking her head as she turned to glance at Dean and Sam._

"_They're scared." She said. "The Leviathans are older even than the oldest archangel. Older… and way more powerful. Dick Roman and his minions could kick their asses six ways to Sunday and so they aren't even going to try to take them on. It's pathetic, really." Elena said, turning back to look at the angels._

_Both of them adopted eerily similar glares as they stared her down._

"_Well, what are you waiting for, let's go. Strap me down and make me good again." _

_Sam stepped forward._

"_Is that what you're going to do? Fix her?" he asked._

"_Well they owe it to me, don't you think?" Elena said._

_Michael and Gabriel didn't say anything, reaching forward to grab her arms. Elena glanced back at the brothers, obvious amusement on her face that confused both them and the angels._

"_See you soon, boys." She said with a wink._

* * *

_Elena laughed as she sat down in the hardback chair. The room was bright white and empty except for the chair that she was sitting in._

"_You act so holy but in reality you're no different from every other monster that's tied me down and forced their way into my mind. Demons, vampires… Leviathan. You're just the same as them. You're just as…"_

_Elena cut off, choking as she tried to force the words out but found herself unable to do so._

"_I can see why you called me in. You two would let her talk forever because of your unhealthy attachment. Even you, Michael." _

_Her eyes widened at the voice and she stared up at the angel who entered with a shocked look._

"_That's enough, Raphael." Michael snapped, glaring over at him. "We brought you in because you have more experience dealing with the human mind. Fix her or get out." _

_Elena struggled, finding that she was unable to move. Her eyes blazed as she glared at the three archangels, the thoughts going on in her head clearly containing a lot of curses._

"_Yes fine, I'll have her back to normal… as normal as any human can be… in a few minutes." Raphael sighed, moving forward and placing his hand on her forehead._

* * *

_Dean and Sam didn't leave the motel room, not wanting to miss it when the archangels brought Elena back. When they heard the sound of wings, both of them turned from packing to see Gabriel holding Elena up. Michael wasn't there. He led her to a chair and let her slump into it as she inhaled deeply, wincing. Dean moved to walk to her but Gabriel stopped him, a hand on his chest and a warning look in his eyes._

"_What are you doing?" Dean demanded._

_A hint of regret flashed through Gabriel's eyes and suddenly Elena let out a cold laugh as she sat back in the seat._

"_He's trying to protect you. He doesn't know whether I'm going to take it out on you." she said, lifting her eyes to stare into Dean's._

_His skin crawled and he took a step back._

"_I thought you said…" Sam began._

"_We tried." Gabriel said, sounding almost helpless._

"_Boy did they try. Raphael... Michael… Gabriel…" Elena said, grinning._

"_Raphael?" Dean and Sam said at the same time. _

"_Cas killed him." Dean said._

"_And Michael was in the cage… I was dead and Castiel's died more than once." Gabriel replied simply, walking across the room to look out the window._

"_And your dad fixed it all, didn't he? Well then why the hell isn't he fixing this?!" Dean shouted, gesturing to Elena. "Why isn't he fixing the mess the Leviathan are making?! Is he just going to sit back and let them tear the world apart?"_

"_It's complicated, Dean. He can't." the angel sighed._

_The hunters stared at Gabriel incredulously._

"_What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Sam asked._

_Gabriel faced them with a sigh._

"_I'm sorry. I can't do any more for you. We tried to fix Elena but she blocked us out, somehow. I think the Leviathan taught her some tricks." He said._

"_They didn't." Elena said, staring up at him._

_They all looked at her._

"_I adapted… learned a little something from their methods. Unlike you, Dick Roman didn't know that he wasn't getting into my mind. I tricked him into seeing enough that he never even knew that I was keeping him out. I had no reason to do that with you. You weren't going to torture me like he did. How do you think I made him let me go before the brainwashing was complete? Why do you think these two are still alive when my sole purpose was to kill them as soon as I laid eyes on them? I got stronger and now no one will ever get into my head again."_

_Dean let out a soft sigh at her triumphant tone. He almost wished that this was a dream, that Elena was still with Dick Roman so that they could find her and get her out, get their Elena back, not this cold, angry version of her. He knew that it was his fault. He let this happen to her. He told Cas to mess with her mind and he brought her into this life in the first place._

"_That doesn't matter. You know what we did to you." Gabriel said, walking to stand in front of her. _

_She glared up at him._

"_I fought my way out of Dick Roman's hold on me and I'll fight my way through this too." Elena snapped._

"_What did you do to her?" Sam asked, confused._

"_We bound her to you two." Gabriel sighed, turning to them as Elena's glare grew fiercer. "She announced her intent to leave you two on your own so we told her that if one of you dies that she has twenty minutes to save you before she dies too." _

_Elena looked away from them, glaring at the wall as she crossed her arms over her chest._

"_It's temporary until she's back to normal." Gabriel said._

"_What do you mean? How do you think she's going to get back to normal if you don't do something?! How is any of this going to get back to normal? Can't you do one giant extermination and get rid of these things?" Dean demanded, referring to the Leviathan._

"_They are older and stronger than any angel, Dean. I can't do anything. And when it comes to Elena, she has to let someone in and let them fix her." Gabriel said._

"_Talking about me as if I'm not here, great." Elena muttered under her breath._

"_She doesn't trust anyone!" Dean yelled._

"_That's not true, is it?" the archangel looked down at her and she glared back._

"_The only being I would trust to get in my head is dead." She said simply._

_He looked back at Sam and Dean as they tried to figure out what Elena was talking about._

"_I'm sorry, I don't have any better news for you. I have to go, though. You'll figure it out, I'm certain of it." he said._

_Then he turned to Elena and bent down, pulling her wrist towards him. She glared at him and tried to yank it backwards._

"_Calm down, I'm simply finishing up the binding ritual… this might hurt."_

_Elena tried to pull her hand back again but he kept it fixed in his hand. Her eyes widened as he closed his eyes and she let out a whimper. Dean and Sam looked on as light poured out of his hand. Finally, Elena's mouth opened and she cried out, struggling with him even more. He pulled away after a minute and she collapsed back against the chair cradling her wrist._

"_Go to hell!" she yelled at him._

"_What did you do?" Dean said, stepping forward._

"_I finished the binding ritual, marked her. It's a sigil that I can remove as soon as she stops being stubborn and lets us fix her." Gabriel said harshly._

"_Not going to happen, asshole." She snapped at him._

"_It will, I know it will." Gabriel turned to Sam and Dean. "The best thing you have on your side is something I did manage to get a glimpse at. She is as pissed off at the Leviathan as you are. She wants to rip them to shreds and as long as you work towards that goal, she'll work with you. That's how you get her to come back to you. Bring her along on the ride, and I promise you'll get your revenge and you will get her back." _

_Elena didn't counteract this, staring at the wall. Dean looked at her and back at Gabriel just in time to see him disappear. Then he stumbled backwards onto a bed as Sam watched Elena carefully._

"_I'm not going to attack you again." She said, staring at the floor._

"_What are you going to do?" Sam asked._

_Elena raised her head to look at him._

"_I'm going to do exactly what Gabriel said. I'm going to help you find each and every Leviathan that exists and I'm going to chop their heads off. I'm going to help you bring down Dick Roman." She said simply._

"_And then?" Dean said._

_She glanced over at him, dropping her hand to reveal the black tattoo surrounded by irritated redness._

"_I don't know."_

* * *

**Review please! I hope you don't hate what I'm doing with the story. If it was all the same every time, it wouldn't be interesting. I had to come up with something new and this is as new as I could think of.**

**Good news! The next chapter takes place in Mystic Falls!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own TVD or Supernatural**

**Thanks to RHatch89, SwanQueen4055, Nyssandria, schoch26, JMHUW, MikaelsonChicka, Dean Winchester Rocks, DrawingMyHeartOut, and the guest for reviewing! **

**As far as her outfits, unless I mention otherwise with other jewelry, assume that Elena is wearing Eve's dragon pendent. Also, assume that there will be outfits for the chapter unless I mention otherwise. I feel ridiculous mentioning it every chapter. If you want to see what she's wearing, check my profile.**

**Also check my profile for this chapter because Elena gets a new ride. I got the idea a while ago and I wasn't going to do it because it was stupid. Now I can't help myself and I'm sorry if you hate the idea. I did do it for a reason, though.**

**This chapter isn't going to be very long which is why I'm posting another chapter by tonight. Don't worry, we'll see more from the Mystic Falls people soon but I really had a hard time writing this chapter. I'm having a hard time getting through these chapters because I know what I want to do but I can't do it for several more chapters so I'm just having to push through this block. Thank you for being patient with me.**

* * *

Elena sat at the bar keeping a close eye on Dean as he played pool with a random bar attendee. The man in question was large, larger than Dean. He had on a leather jacket that no doubt hid random tattoos. Sam sat next to her sipping on beer and looking through several news articles on his computer for a new case. Dean grinned up at the man as he shot the black eight ball into the hole, winning the game. Before he could pick up the money from the corner of the pool table, the man shoved him back. She straightened up slightly and narrowed her eyes as she watched the exchange.

The beefy man began yelling about cheating and attracted the attention of most of the bar. Sam looked up and sighed, moving to help his brother. Elena stopped him with a hand on his arm. Dean looked like he wanted to fight the man but didn't, watching with a glare as he snatched the money up and shoved his way out of the bar. His eyes met Elena's and she sighed, moving off the barstool. Dean walked to Sam as she walked out of the bar.

"Dean…" Sam said hesitantly, watching as Elena left. "Is it really a good idea to send her after that guy?"

"Ah she can take care of herself." Dean said confidently as he finished off the beer that she left behind.

"It's not her I'm worried about." Sam muttered.

Elena's boots clacked on the ground as she followed the man to his motorcycle that was parked in the alleyway behind the bar. He turned and caught sight of her, confusion flickering over his face before he grinned at her. She smiled back, shoving her hands into her jacket pockets.

"You need something?" the man asked.

"Yeah." Elena nodded, kicking at the rocks on the ground. "I need my friend's five-hundred dollars that you owe him."

The man's grin fell and he narrowed his eyes.

"He cheated." He said accusingly.

"No… he won. You cheated him of his money and I want it… now." She said, stepping forward.

The man stepped up as well, puffing out his chest and staring down at her.

"What are you willing to do for it?" he asked, his tone obviously hinting at what he expected from her.

Elena let a sly grin form on her face as she took another step forward.

"Whatever I have to." She shrugged.

The man grinned again and reached out towards her. She smiled wider just before her hand shot out and grasped his wrist. His face turned to shock and pain as she twisted it, snapping it easily. He let out a yell of pain and she shoved him against the wall face first, pressing her weight against his back.

"How about now? Want to give up the money?" she asked tauntingly.

"Go fuck yourself." he spat at her, his body heaving with pants as she twisted his arm more.

Elena lifted onto her toes.

"Give me the money and I'll let you keep your extremities." She whispered in his ear.

"Big talk for a little girl." he fired back at her.

She yanked him away from the wall and shoved her knee into his stomach, causing him to bend over as his breath was forced out of his chest. Her knee drove up into his nose, flipping him backwards onto his back. Elena pressed a foot to his throat, her heel digging into his air pipe. He gasped and wheezed, trying to struggle with her.

"The good thing is… no one is going to believe you when you say that I'm the one who beat you up. They'll laugh in your face. So I'll take my money now." She said, moving her foot and slamming her fist into his face.

He went unconscious and she grinned, fishing his wallet out of his pocket. Instead of just the five hundred dollars, she found fifteen hundred. Elena took it out and shoved it into her pocket.

"Have a nice night." She said, tossing the wallet onto the unconscious man's chest before turning to walk off.

Before she made it out of the alleyway, a figure stepped out. She stared at the man for a moment, tilting her head to the side as she squinted at him.

"Dick Roman sends his regards… or he will as soon as he finds out that the Winchesters are still alive." The creatures said, moving forward.

Elena sighed and stepped backwards.

"I'm going to give you one chance… get out of here and you'll escape alive." She said.

The leviathan laughed, his chuckles turning into a growl as his head reared back and his monstrous mouth opened.

"Have it your way."

Elena ran backwards to the motorcycle to find that the biker had luckily stuck the keys in. She quickly started it as the monster ran forward. Her leg swung over it and she kicked the kickstand up before revving the engine. The monster watched with shock as she flew by him on the motorcycle. She knew that he was chasing her after a few moments. Once she reached the Impala that was all the way across the parking lot, she screeched to a halt and let it fall to the ground. The doors were locked and Dean and Sam weren't anywhere to be found.

"Looks like I know where this fifteen hundred is going." She sighed, slamming her elbow into the backseat window to break it.

The Leviathan ripped her away from the car and threw her to the ground just as she seized the machete out of the open weapons duffle bag that was leftover from their last hunt of a nomad vampire. She flipped up onto her feet and launched at the thing, shoving him back into the Impala. He growled at her just as she heard the door to the bar fly open.

"Hey!" Dean's voice came from across the parking lot.

The Leviathan was momentarily distracted and Elena took the chance to tackle him to the ground. She straddled his stomach and held the machete to his throat threateningly.

"Are you alone?" she demanded, glaring down at him.

"Dick is going to roast you alive." He hissed up at her.

"Are you alone?" Elena repeated, pressing the blade down into his throat.

He stared up at her, unwilling to speak.

"Who knows you're here?" she demanded.

"They're going to kill your brother, your friends, and everyone you ever loved." He snapped.

Elena stared down at him for a moment before she raised the blade over her head, bringing it down on his neck. She winced as she was sprayed with the black blood but stared down at the decapitated Leviathan triumphantly. Dean and Sam reached the car with matching wide-eyed looks.

"Where'd the motorcycle come from?" Sam asked at the same time Dean howled, "You broke my baby's window!"

Elena huffed and stood, fishing the money out of her pocket and throwing it at him.

"Leviathan trying to kill me trumped your baby's window." she said, throwing the machete in the backseat. "Now don't you think we should get him out of here before someone sees?"

Dean let out a whimper.

* * *

"What did he say?" Sam asked as they threw the head into the water.

They'd already buried the body five miles away.

"That Dick would be angry when he found out that I didn't kill you, that they would kill us… blah blah blah." Elena said with a roll of her eyes.

"Anything else?" Dean asked.

She looked at him and sighed.

"He said they would kill my brother, my friends, and everyone I ever loved." She said. "At least there aren't many of those left, right?"

Dean and Sam stopped their walking and stared at her with wide eyes.

"Elena… we have to get to Mystic Falls." Dean said.

She stared at them both with a furrowed brow.

"Why?"

"The Leviathans are going to go after everyone there." Sam said as if it was obvious.

Elena scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"We taught them how to protect themselves." She said dismissively.

"Not against Leviathan!" Dean said, shocked.

Elena sighed and threw her arms in the air out of exasperation.

"Then shoot them a text and tell them to cut off the heads. It's simple enough." she said, shoving her hands into her pockets and turning to walk off once again.

"We're going to Mystic Falls to hunt down the Leviathan. If you want to ensure that you stay alive, you'll come with us." Sam said.

Elena stopped short and turned back to him with a glare on her face.

"I'll meet you there." she said simply before turning to walk off.

"Why not ride with us?" Dean asked, concern in his voice.

"Because I found a better way to travel." She fired back before disappearing from the spot.

* * *

"What is this?"

Elena didn't look up at the voice as she walked on the pavement glancing around.

"What does it look like?" she fired back.

"It looks to me like you're buying yourself a new ride." Gabriel said.

She looked back at him.

"Who said anything about buying?"

The archangel sighed heavily.

"Is that why the after hours peek?" he asked.

She simply smiled as she ran her hand over the cool metal.

"I know how you keep track of me, I'm not stupid. I have those Enochian sigils on my ribs so that's not the way. Dean and Sam have them too. We're not doing anything else of notice. Except for… mode of transportation. The zapping around with my angelic powers." Elena said, staring straight at him.

"I never thought you were stupid… until now. Do you know how many people these things kill?" Gabriel said, glancing at the line-up.

Elena let out a laugh as the salesman bustled up to them holding a set of keys.

"I'm not exactly a 'people'." She reminded Gabriel, turning to greet the man.

"Here you are." He said, handing her the keys.

"Thank you, Gerald." She said, grinning at him as she took them.

Her hand touched his face and he stared at her dumbly.

"You won't remember a thing. Now go back to your office and delete the video surveillance. Then go to sleep." Elena instructed.

"Yes." He nodded, turning to walk away.

Elena turned back and saw Gabriel staring at her with a raised eyebrow.

"What?" she shrugged.

"You know this isn't exactly what we imagined you do with these abilities we gave you." he said.

Elena smirked at him as she threw her leg over the seat and sliding the keys into the engine.

"I'm a Petrova. These abilities are part of me more than the ones that you forced into my bloodstream." She said, revving up the motorcycle before tearing out of the parking lot, leaving the archangels behind.

* * *

The group all stared at Sam and Dean.

"If you say that she's fine, why can't we see her?" Caroline demanded.

"She'll be here soon." Sam assured them.

Jeremy stood with a worried expression.

"There's something you aren't telling us."

"I agree with little Gilbert. What is it?" Damon questioned.

Dean shook his head and looked away. Sam stared at him for a moment, wondering if he would talk.

"She was with the Leviathan for months. She didn't exactly walk away from that without… scars." The younger brother said hesitantly.

"Scars? They tortured her?" Bonnie asked, looking horrified.

Sam sighed and stepped forward to placate them.

"Yeah, she was tortured. I don't mean physical scars, though. She's really…"

"I can't wait to hear how you're going to finish that sentence, Sammy."

Their heads all snapped to the door to see Elena walk into the living room of the Salvatore boarding house.

"Oh Elena, thank God." Caroline breathed, moving forward.

She held her hand up to stop the blonde vampire.

"Sorry Care… no hugging." She said simply, walking forward and placing the helmet in her hand on a table.

They all watched with wide eyes as she walked to the fireplace and snapped her fingers, causing the wood to spark and catch fire.

"Now let's get one thing straight. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for the two idiots that dragged me here. I'm keeping them safe, not any of you. I honestly couldn't care less if any of you get hurt so try not to so that I don't have to go through the multitude of sorrowful looks when one of you does something stupid enough to die. I won't be saving anyone's life and I definitely won't be resurrecting anyone. So do what you will with that." she said, pacing around in front of the fireplace.

They all looked at Sam and Dean.

"Did you check to make sure she's not Katherine?" Damon asked.

She rolled her eyes and turned to face them.

"I'm not Katherine. Like Sam said, I'm not the same Elena. I'm not sympathetic and all filled with feelings. I couldn't care less if any of you died except that I know you'll all complain about it sooner or later. I really don't want to be here but I'm forced to be here. I'm going to try to make this as painless as I can. If you want the same, I suggest either helping me or staying out of my way."

They all stared at her incredulously. Even the Original vampires were shocked by her change in behavior.

"Now if you don't mind, I need to go seek out some Leviathan to kill."

They watched as she walked out. Dean and Sam turned to face the others.

"So by scars you mean…" Bonnie trailed off.

"They messed with her head. We're not sure exactly what they did but whatever it was, even the angels can't fix it." Sam sighed.

Caroline looked at Dean with sympathy and he looked down, unwilling to show the pain he was feeling over the fact that the love of his life was so different. Damon scoffed and stood, crossing the room to pour himself a drink.

"Come on, it can't be that hard."

They all stared at him with questioning looks.

"Basically it's like when a vampire turns their emotions off. You can always get them to turn them back on." he said.

"That's different, Damon." Stefan sighed, standing as well. "We can't do the same things. What Lexi used to do to bring me back is exactly what got Elena like this in the first place. Torture isn't going to work."

Damon nodded, taking a large gulp of his drink.

"I'm not thinking torture. I'm thinking shock. Let's shock it out of her. If we do something that takes her by surprise and forces the emotion out of her, voila… old Elena back." Damon suggested.

"That is ridiculous, Damon. How do we shock her when she's way more powerful than any of us?" Rebekah sighed, rolling her eyes.

Dean stepped forward, staring at Damon who stared right back.

"What's your plan?"

* * *

The park was almost empty and that was the first thing that set off Elena's danger radar. She walked through glancing around suspiciously. When she saw a woman staring straight at her, her eyes narrowed and she froze. She recognized her as Dick Roman's assistant that never really left his side. The Leviathan smirked and began striding forward, her path taking her right up to Elena.

"How are you today? Nice weather, isn't it?" she said.

"Skip the pleasantries, where is everyone?" Elena demanded.

"Oh haven't you heard? They're all gathered at the high school. Everyone is very excited to hear about the new building project a few miles outside of Mystic Falls." She said with a smile.

Elena's eyes widened as she realized the familiarity of the statement.

"Building project?" she repeated, her fists clenching.

"Mm-hm." The woman nodded emphatically. "By Dick Roman Enterprises. In fact, they're drawing up the plans right now. He's announcing them to the town and telling them all of the benefits that it will bring to the town."

Elena inhaled deeply and clenched her teeth.

"I will kill all of you." she growled.

"No you won't." the creature said confidently, moving to walk away. "Dick says come on over, by the way. He would love to talk to you."

* * *

The gym of the school was packed with Mystic Falls residents. Many of them spotted her as she walked in and waved eagerly. It was easy to pretend that she didn't see them as her eyes scanned the crowd for that one face. He was up on a platform standing at a podium with a microphone. A charming smile was on his face and he was looking out at the audience.

"I know that you are all as excited as me to get this project going. It thrills me to announce that it is not going to take any money at all out of your pockets. The entire building is going to be funded by my company, Dick Roman enterprises." He said smoothly, sounding as charming as he could.

Elena walked through the crowd of people as they cheered for him. Her anger rose and her blood boiled over the fact that he was doing this. As she neared the stage and her hand flickered towards the gun she had tucked in the back of her pants, a hand suddenly grabbed hers. She turned to see a Leviathan grinning down at her.

"Now I want to introduce you to the wonderful young lady who turned my attentions on Mystic Falls in the first place. I'm sure you all know her and it will please you to learn about our collaboration."

Elena didn't fight with the Leviathan as he dragged her towards the stage. When he pulled her up the steps and a hush fell over the crowd at the sight of her, her eyes lifted to stare right into Dick's.

"Elena Gilbert, everyone." He said, gesturing for her to come closer.

The crowd of her hometown began clapping eagerly as she walked across the stage towards the Leviathan leader despite every instinct in her body telling her to run. Dick slid his arm around her shoulders once she reached him, throwing her entire body into a frenzy as she wanted to rip his arm out of its socket and chop his head off right there. Instead, she turned and pasted a fake smile on her face, not wanting anyone to see anything out of the ordinary.

"She told me about this town and how welcoming it would be. I had my doubts but I guess it's true what they say about southern hospitality. Thank you for this opportunity to get to know your town better, Elena. I'm sure it'll be a great time." Dick said, throwing her a charming smile.

"Thank you Mr. Roman." She forced out, her voice echoing around the gym through the speakers connected to the microphone. "I don't know how to thank you for this."

"Oh we'll talk about it later." He shrugged off, turning to wave at the crowd as they stepped away from the podium.

Elena kept the fake smile on her face as she waved to all of the people she recognized as well.

"I'm going to kill you and all of your friends." she said through gritted teeth.

"You wouldn't know how to kill me." Dick replied, his big smile not faltering at all.

"I'll figure it out. I have a lot of time on my hands."

"Elena I have got your town in my pocket and I can destroy it any time. You will kill the Winchesters…"

"I will do no such thing. Unless you want me hunting your goons down and sending them to your offices in pieces, you will leave them alone and you'll leave this town alone." She threatened.

"That doesn't scare me, Elena. I don't care about the other lower level creatures that I choose to keep in my company. You can kill them all."

"That's the thing, you're trying to trick me but I know that you don't have limitless numbers. You don't multiply like other creatures. You can't just change someone into a Leviathan at your fancy so the more of you I kill, the less of you there are. I'm pretty sure you can't take over the world when you're the only one left." Elena said, stepping back more with him.

His hand dug into her shoulder painfully but she didn't wince.

"I'll employ other creatures." He said.

"I'll kill all of them too. They'll get the message that if they work with Dick Roman, they'll die. After a while, the fact that you're the oldest creature alive won't matter when no one else is on your side. I will starve you out until you have nothing and no one on your side. Then you'll be begging for me to kill you." she informed him.

"I'd like to see you try." Dick whispered in her ear.

"Then stand back and watch." She replied, turning to stare deep into his eyes.

She held out her hand and he took his arm away from her shoulders to shake it. His grip was firm as hers and she didn't bother to wince as his strength caused her bones to grind together.

"At first I thought my brainwashing didn't take but now I see that it had much different results than I planned. You are a much different person that you were before." he acknowledged.

"You created your own worst enemy, Dick. You know what your greatest mistake was?" she said, looking up at him.

"What was that?" he asked.

Elena grinned at him, a real smile.

"Castiel." She whispered softly, leaning in to put her mouth at his ear as if she was telling him a secret. "You really shouldn't have left him untouched."

"Your memories of him are worthless. His death tortures you more than turning you against his memory could." Dick said, confusion evident in his voice.

"You're wrong." Elena said, pulling away and gripping his hand firmly. "He gives me the strength it takes to rip you apart bit by bit."

Dick smiled at her too, his confusion gone and covered by confidence.

"You do realize that you're declaring a war that you cannot win." He informed her.

"We'll see about that." she replied.

* * *

She had a bottle of whiskey in one hand and her phone in the other. It had been an entire day since the confrontation with Dick and she knew they were all looking for her. She finally let them know that she was a few towns over at a bar and she was simply waiting for them to come get her. When she heard the screeching tires and she sighed, leaning against her motorcycle to wait. Damon launched out of the car first followed by Stefan, Jeremy, Caroline, Bonnie, Matt, Dean, and Sam. The Originals were nowhere to be seen.

"I didn't need the welcome wagon to come find me, idiots." She snapped.

"Are you drunk?" Jeremy asked, frowning at her.

"Nope!" Elena shrugged, lifting the whiskey to her mouth to drink it down.

Suddenly it was yanked out of her hand and thrown across the parking lot. Damon seized her arm and dragged her forward.

"Let go of me!" she yelled, shoving him away.

"What the hell did you do, Elena? Dick Roman blows into town and we hear that you are in collaboration with him? Next thing we know, five people go missing and all that's left of them is a bloodstain in their homes. What did you do?" Damon demanded, throwing her against the car.

"I could squash you like a bug, leech!" she growled, her hands forming fists.

"Stop it." Stefan said, stepping between them.

"Did you declare war on them?" Damon demanded.

"I told him that I would kill him and anything like him. He deserves it. They all do!" Elena shot back, glaring at him.

"Yeah they do. But you know what, take your vendetta away from this town. You don't live here anymore and you don't have to deal with anything. Sheriff Forbes is accusing us of being behind the disappearances because we don't know how to tell her that the oldest monsters in the world are taking their grudge against you out on this town." Damon hissed at her.

"It's not my problem what happens to the people in that town! All I care about is getting my revenge. If a few stupid people get in my way and get killed that's your business, not mine."

They all stared at her with surprise, unable to respond to her.

"Elena, you don't have to act like this." Caroline said, looking emotional.

"Oh stop it, Caroline. You sound pathetic." Elena scoffed, pushing to move past them.

Suddenly Damon shoved her against the car again and Dean automatically stepped forward to protect her even though he knew that this wasn't his Elena. This was Dick's Elena and it was killing him to see her like this.

"Enough!" The dark haired vampire yelled. "You are acting like a little spoiled brat, you know that?"

Elena glared at him, her arms crossed over her chest.

"You think that we can't punish you. Maybe not. But I can sure punish him."

Suddenly he had his hand on the back of Jeremy's neck and he was yanking him forward.

"Damon!" Caroline exclaimed but he shut her up with a look.

"Seriously? You think this…"

"Shut up!" Damon cut Elena off with a yell. "I'm done playing nice. Turn your emotions back on right now, Elena, or so help me God, I will give you something to be sad about. I will kill him right here in front of you."

"Damon." Stefan began, looking wary as Elena squinted at him.

"Don't 'Damon' me. She doesn't love anyone? She doesn't care about anyone? Fine. Prove it." Damon challenged her.

"It's not my emotions that are turned off." She scoffed.

"I know, you just have to open up your mind and let the angels bring you back. But you see I think that's not entirely it. You're keeping your emotions buried. Then again, if you really don't care… if I'm wrong, what difference does it make? One less Gilbert."

"Elena." Jeremy said, looking at her with wide eyes as Damon's hands encircled his throat.

Elena and Damon stared each other down.

"You're bluffing." She said accusingly.

Suddenly a sickening crack filled the air as Damon snapped Jeremy's neck. Elena gasped loudly as his body fell to the ground and Damon stepped away. She took a step forward as she looked at her brother's lifeless body.

"How about now? You feel anything now? You angry I just turned your brother into roadkill?"

Elena stared at Jeremy as everyone else watched warily to see what her reaction would be.

"Or are you sad that your little brother that everyone loves is just a bag of bones?"

Her hands were trembling and Dean took a step forward. Sam kept him back as they watched her slowly bend to her knees.

"Remember when he was a little kid, huh? Warm heart, big goofy smile, his whole life ahead of him." Damon knelt down as well, picking up his hand.

"I guess it was a good idea that he was wearing this."

Elena caught sight of the resurrection ring as one tear fell from her eye. Her dark orbs stared at it for a moment before they looked up at Damon. They flashed with anger and suddenly he was thrown against the car with her hand around his neck.

"I should kill you." she growled, fury in her eyes as another tear fell.

"I made you feel and that makes you angry." Damon acknowledged.

"You have no idea what I'm feeling, Damon Salvatore. If you ever pull a stunt like that again I'll have you burning where you stand. You didn't bring me back, you idiot. You just wasted a lot of energy to make me realize that there is nothing that can bring me back. I just watched my brother die and it didn't change a thing. Congratulations, Damon. You just pissed me off more." Elena snapped, jerking away and letting his body fall to the ground. "If I see you again, you're dust."

They watched as she stepped over Jeremy's body and walked to her motorcycle. Their eyes widened with shock as she hopped on it and threw her helmet onto her head. Jeremy jerked awake just as she sped away with a roar of the engine.

"Where's Elena?" he murmured, sitting up and rubbing his neck.

"Gone." Damon answered, looking truly surprised that his plan didn't work.

* * *

Her room looked the same, her comforter still smelled like Dean from where they slept on it for a year. A random toy that Apple left behind was in the corner of the room and she could see her old diary sitting on her bookshelf next to the books that she would probably never read again and above the photo albums of her, the Winchesters, and the rest of the family that she didn't have anymore. She sat on the bed and looked straight ahead into the mirror.

"I just watched." Her voice was barely above a whisper as she shifted her motorcycle keys from her right hand to her left hand then back over and over again. "What kind of a sister watches her brother be killed and doesn't do anything about it?"

There was no answer and she didn't expect for there to be.

"I wanted to care, I really did. It's just… gone. How can I want something that isn't there? How do I get to where I want it back? It's so confusing and I don't know what to do." Elena looked down at the pendent sitting on her chest.

"You always knew what to say, somehow you knew how to make me see what I had to do. Now I'm lost and I need my… I need you back. They think that there's no one who makes me feel or care but that's not true. The only one who does is… well you know, obviously." She sighed.

She took a deep breath and looked up into the mirror.

"I don't know what to do so I need you to come tell me. I need you to tell me what the right path is here because I have no idea. Please, Cas… you're the only one that…"

Elena cut off, the silence the only response she got.

"I don't know where you are so I know you can't hear me." she said, looking around. "You once asked for a sign and I told you that it was right in front of you. So I need to ask for the same thing. I need a sign here and I need you to come tell me where it is. I'm too distracted to see it so unless I get something I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing. I'm going to destroy Dick and everyone around him. But… I think that in doing that, I'm going to destroy everything in my life too. So if that's not what I'm supposed to do, I need something to tell me that. I just need you back, Cas. Castiel. My angel."

She let out a breath and stood up.

"I'm talking to a ghost." She said, giving up and walking out of the room.

As she walked down the stairs, she missed one of the photo albums falling off the bookshelf and opening to a picture with her sitting on Bobby's lap and making the older man laugh and blush as she kissed his cheek.

* * *

**The next chapter is the 1940's chapter! Also, Elena and Dean get some quality alone time together so that will be something to look forward to. Jodie Mills as well, so there you go. Review please!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own TVD or Supernatural**

**Thanks to RHatch89, Daisy96, Nyssandria, Dean Winchester Rocks, SwanQueen4055, scoch26, Imprudence, MaddAlice, xxPaige23xx, and DrawingMyHeartOut for reviewing!**

**Elena's 1940s outfit is on my profile so check it out.**

* * *

_They were sitting in the car waiting and watching. Elena was stuck in the backseat as Dean and Sam sat in the front. As soon as Dean spotted the man in the long coat and a fedora walking around the corner away from them, he snapped into action, loading his gun._

"_All right, let's do this." he said, gaining the attention of the other two. "Move fast."_

_Dean cocked his gun as Elena opened the door._

"_Wait, wait, wait." Sam stopped them both. "What's the plan exactly?"_

"_Don't die." Dean shrugged after a moment of deliberation._

_They jumped out of the car and hurried after the creature they were hunting. When they came to a fork, Dean looked to where the man was going._

_:He's heading downtown." He informed them. _

_They all peered around to see that he was right. _

"_All right, you take the street." Dean said, pointing at Sam. "Elena and I will take the alley. We'll meet you in the middle."_

_Dean turned to run off and Elena followed him, her handgun in one hand and her dagger in the other. When they turned an alleyway corner, they saw the fedora man kneeling over another man and holding his head up. Sure enough, a bright red light was shining between them. Suddenly the victim fell backwards with a crunch and they could see from where they were that he was mummified._

"_Son of a..." Dean whispered._

_The red light began radiating from fedora man as he straightened up and Dean began running towards him without a second thought._

"_What are you…" Elena rushed after him with a heavy sigh and they both ran towards the fedora man as he turned to face them._

"_Dean?" They heard from behind them. _

_Just as Dean tackled the man, the red light seemed to surround them and suddenly they felt like they were being sucked into a vortex. Sam threw his hands over his eyes to block out the blinding red light and when he was able to open them, the red light was gone along with Elena, Dean, and the creature. _

_"Elena?! Dean?!" he yelled, looking around desperately._

* * *

**TWO DAYS EARLIER**

They were sitting at the table in silence. Elena was staring down at her phone reading articles as Dean searched around on the Internet. They were both looking for information on what Dick was up to. It had been a week since their visit to Mystic Falls and both Elena and Dean were even more dedicated to taking Dick down than they were before. Suddenly a loud noise filled the air and they both glanced over to see that Sam's phone was ringing. He jerked awake as Dean took a swig of whiskey. Sam sat up and groaned, rubbing his head as he turned to glare at them.

"Don't give me that dirty-diaper look. I ain't calling you." Dean said, raising an eyebrow at his little brother as Elena allowed a small smile to form on her face.

"Hello?" Sam muttered into the phone once he answered it.

"Sam, it's Jody Mills. I wake you?" the voice came over the phone.

"The sheriff? Uh..." Sam reached over and turned on a lamp. "Yeah. Uh, I mean, uh…"

"Listen, I got something that smells like you three." She said, cutting him off. "A body turned up in Canton, Ohio. Local P.D.'s trying to bury the story and the body."

"Okay, um, so, uh, what's up with the body?" Sam asked as Elena and Dean continued searching through the articles.

"Well, when it went missing, it was a perfectly normal grad student named Charles Durbin. When it turned up, the thing was mummified minus the wrapping. This is actually the second body found like this in the last couple weeks. Sound like a song you three tap to?" She questioned.

"Yeah, yeah, that's, that's um... that's our kind of number." Sam nodded, sighing heavily. "Hey, question… how does a sheriff in Sioux Falls get wind of a case in Ohio?"

"I'm just that nosy. Look, after everything I've been through with you boys and..." Jody paused and sighed. "… with Bobby, you know, something like this pops up on the wire, it catches my ear. What can I say?"

"Well, we'll look into it. Thanks, Sheriff." Sam agreed, not wanting to think about Bobby.

"Call me after, okay?" Jody said.

"Yeah." Sam agreed before hanging up.

"That was Sheriff Mills. She caught us one." He informed them as they glanced up at him.

"Oh, I feel bad. We didn't get her anything." Dean said dryly.

"I can't believe I'm about to say this but I hope you're watching cartoon smut, cause reading Dick Roman crap over and over again is just self-punishment." Sam said, staring straight at Dean.

Elena choked back a laugh as Dean closed the laptop.

"It's called anime, and it's an art form." He shot back to his little brother.

"It's porn." Elena and Sam said together as they stood to start packing.

* * *

They were already dressed in their FBI suits when they pulled into Canton. Well, Dean and Sam were. Elena was behind them on her motorcycle. Dean pulled the Impala up to a foreclosed and broken down house and they inspected it. Dean huffed and turned to Sam.

"Well, this looks nice. Check around back?"

Sam shrugged and Dean drove off, pulling the car around the alley and hiding it in the driveway with Elena following him and parking beside him.

* * *

Elena stood off to one side as they carried a table and chairs down the stairs into the empty dining room.

"Well, there's a... semi-functioning bathroom and one un-rancid bedroom." Sam informed Dean.

They didn't bother asking Elena because she didn't sleep there.

"Define semi-functioning, and do not use the words hole in the floor." Dean said, turning to his brother.

Sam hesitated before holding out his left palm and his right fist. Elena rolled her eyes as he nodded at Dean. The older brother stared at him before holding out his own hands. They both adopted serious expressions as they slammed their fists into their palms three times.

Elena laughed as Dean watched Sam unroll his bedroll in the empty and less rancid bedroom. They stood in the doorway watching.

"How does paper beat a rock? It's stupid." Dean grumbled.

Sam laughed and along with Elena as they walked out of the room.

"You coming with us to talk to the witness?" Dean asked her in a low voice.

Elena let out a scoff.

"I'll skip out on that if you don't mind." She said, rolling her eyes as she walked into the dining room and sat on the table, pulling out her phone.

* * *

"Kids playing hide-and-seek found the body." Sam said as he held out the picture once they pulled up to the house that they went to.

"Wow. Very King Tut." Dean commented as he stared at the mummified corpse.

"Yeah, so, uh, this is where the eyewitness to the assault lives, but the cops are calling him an unreliable witness." Sam explained.

"Because?" Dean asked.

"Let's find out." Sam shrugged.

They knocked on the door at the same time and it opened to reveal a man wrapped in a blanket who looked very nervous. They showed off their ID's at the same time.

"Special Agent Smith. This is, uh, Special Agent Smith. No relation." Dean said.

"Whoa." The man commented with wide eyes. "Do you mind if we, uh... my mom's sleeping in there."

He stepped outside and closed the door, turning to face them.

"S-so, how can I...?" he stammered.

"Oh, we, uh… we had a few questions about the incident you witnessed in the alley." Sam informed him.

"You just gonna laugh at my story like the rest of the suits?" the man demanded, looking indignant as he clutched his blanket closer.

"We're not gonna laugh at you." Dean assured him.

"All right, well, I'm on the steps... medicating... when I hear fighting. So I look. There's my neighbor Durbin, and some dude dressed like my grandpa's got him by the neck, right?" the man explained.

"What do you mean he looks like your grandpa?" Dean questioned.

"Uh... snappy shoes, suit, one of those, um, Justin Timberlake hats." He said, gesturing to his head.

"Y-you mean a… a fedora?" Sam said.

"Aha!" the man nodded emphatically.

"Did you see anything else?"

"This red, like, energy passed through Durbin to hat guy. Even my watch stopped. Durbs... he aged before my eyes. He looked like a raisin." The man said, looking terrified and exhilarated at the same time.

"Well, we believe you." Sam assured him.

The witness nodded and smiled appreciatively.

"Thanks for your help." Dean said as they turned away.

"Thank you, officer… officers." The man stammered.

"Wow." Dean whispered as they walked off.

* * *

"I did research when you left." Elena informed them as they walked in and shed their jackets. "Canton turns out kind of a hot spot for weird dead bodies."

"Hmm. You don't say." Dean commented.

Sam sat at the table beside her as Dean leaned over her shoulder to look at the laptop.

"Yeah. News archives." She said, showing them the articles.

"They're not exactly reporting mummifies. But still, 1928… three deaths cited as spontaneous combustion. Bodies, quote, shriveled despite no signs of fire." She recited.

"Little stretch, but okay." Dean shrugged.

"1974..." she hit a button on the keyboard and changed to another newspage. "… three bodies found with leathery decay. '57... three more… severe dehydration. This time one made the front page."

An old newspaper photograph appeared on the screen. A young girl stood in the picture next to a policeman pointing at a corpse. In the background a woman was talking to another policemen and two men were there as well.

"Girl named Terry Cervantes found a corpse near her church." She explained.

"Any pattern here other than the location?" Dean asked.

"Random victims, random years. But they seem to drop in threes." Elena replied, leaning back in her seat.

"That's two down, one to go." he commented. "All right, let me drive for a sec."

He pulled the computer around and squatted by the table to type into it.

"What, are you gonna look up more anime, or are you strictly into Dick now?" Sam said, smirking.

Dean gave him a glare before he finished, bringing up images from security cameras.

"Hmm." He said triumphantly, turning the computer to face them.

Elena glanced at the feeds as Sam's eyes widened.

"Are those local feeds?" he asked.

"Yeah." Dean said, smirking.

"How did you do that so fast?" The younger brother demanded.

"A little tutorial from Frank." Dean said, grinning. "Don't worry. We'll pretend this never happened. Now, mummy numero dos was, uh, found at the Gas n' Sip near Main Street, correct?"

"Yeah." Elena nodded.

He entered gas+main+st into a search box on the Securi-Net Webcams site and brought up four security camera feeds.

"All right, well, here's all the cameras around that store." Dean said.

Sam hesitated, watching for a moment.

"You need to teach me that trick." He said.

Dean smiled and his attention went back to the computer screen. A man in a fedora and a long coat appeared on one of the feeds.

"Hey, check it out… Timberlake."

Elena gave him a confused look at the nickname as Sam noticed something.

"Wait a sec." Sam slid the laptop over to himself.

"You can't let me bask in the glory for one second, can you?" Dean said, glowering at him.

"Shut up. Look."

Sam switched back to the news article with the little girl and he zoomed in on a man in the photograph. Then he brought it up beside the security feed and turned it to face them. The two men were the same.

"He hasn't aged a day, has he?" Dean said, leaning forward to squint at it along with Elena. "All right, well, if he's been popping up for decades now, then somebody's bound to know who he is, right? Is there any chance that, uh, Terry's still local?" he asked, referring to the little girl.

* * *

"You know it's so pretty in the spring. Everything's blooming." Terry sighed.

She was a doctor at the hospital. Dean and Sam stood in front of her in their suits and Elena was a little ways off flipping through a magazine as she leaned against the wall. "That's why I walked home that way… to see the flowers. Instead, I found that body. I still have no idea what could have done that to a person."

"Do you recognize that man?" Dean asked, pointing to their fedora man.

"Yeah. I mean, he lived on my parents' street. Mr. Snider." She nodded.

Dean nodded before considering her words.

"Where'd you say your parents live?"

* * *

They were eating take-out in the car as they staked out the house that Terry led them to. Elena was in the backseat spread across with a Chinese food container in her hand.

"So, what exactly is this thing? Some sort of vampire who got too sucky?" Dean wondered.

"Nope. Coroner's reports said there was blood in both bodies. Three hundred-year-old blood, but blood." Sam replied.

Dean sighed and glanced around to see the fedora man walking out of the house that Terry told them about.

"Dude, dude. Uh, fedora dude." Dean said, nudging his brother.

They all tossed their containers aside and Dean retrieved his gun from the seat.

"All right, let's do this." he said, gaining the attention of the other two. "Move fast."

Dean cocked his gun as Elena opened the door.

"Wait, wait, wait." Sam stopped them both. "What's the plan exactly?"

"Don't die." Dean shrugged after a moment of deliberation.

They jumped out of the car and hurried after the creature they were hunting. When they came to a fork, Dean looked to where the man was going.

:He's heading downtown." He informed them.

They all peered around to see that he was right.

"All right, you take the street." Dean said, pointing at Sam. "Elena and I will take the alley. We'll meet you in the middle."

Dean turned to run off and Elena followed him, her handgun in one hand and her dagger in the other. When they turned an alleyway corner, they saw the fedora man kneeling over another man and holding his head up. Sure enough, a bright red light was shining between them. Suddenly the victim fell backwards with a crunch and they could see from where they were that he was mummified.

"Son of a..." Dean whispered.

The red light began radiating from fedora man as he straightened up and Dean began running towards him without a second thought.

"What are you…" Elena rushed after him with a heavy sigh and they both ran towards the fedora man as he turned to face them.

"Dean?" They heard from behind them.

Just as Dean tackled the man, the red light seemed to surround them and suddenly they felt like they were being sucked into a vortex. Elena was thrown against a brick wall as Dean and the fedora man tussled on the ground. The hunter caught sight of a ring on the man's hand that had an hourglass symbol on it. The man broke away and ran off just as they managed to sort themselves out.

"Hey!" Dean shouted.

Elena grasped him and pulled him into action, running after the man. Dean drew his gun and she pulled out her dagger as they ran out of the alleyway. They ran onto a street and stopped short when a car horn sounded.

"What the…" Elena began as she glanced around at the street.

Suddenly they were being shouted at and they turned to see police officers pointing their guns at them.

"Hey, you! Drop the gun! Put it down! Drop the gun!" They shouted at Dean.

"Drop the knife!" one of them yelled when he saw Elena's dagger.

"All right." Dean said.

Elena gritted her teeth and slowly bent down, placing her dagger on the ground as the policemen advanced on them.

* * *

They were sitting at an interrogation table in handcuffs as a policeman went through their possessions.

"Okay, can I just…" Dean began, leaning forward.

"Don't." the man snapped. "Listen to me. Hey, if you tell me you're from the Bureau one more time, I'm gonna air you out myself. Got it?"

Dean sighed and sat back as Elena glared at the policeman. He turned on Dean's phone and glanced at it.

"No signal. Are you some kind of Jerry spies?"

"Jerry who?" they said at the same time, squinting at them.

"And a terrible one at that." he said, picking up Dean's FBI ID and Elena's driver's license.

"This badge and this ID was issued sixty-seven years from now. Ace work, kraut-munchers." The man snapped, glaring at them.

Elena and Dean stared at him for a moment before they did the calculations quickly in their heads.

"1944!" Elena demanded at the same time Dean exclaimed, "I'm stuck in 1944?!"

"We're all stuck in 1944, ya bunnies." He said, staring at them suspiciously.

A man suddenly entered the room with a fedora tilted down on his head that shadowed his face. The policeman got up and walked over to the new man.

"Take a powder."

"Yes, sir." The policeman said before leaving the room.

"Look I don't even like frigging sauerkraut, okay, so you can just skip the…" Dean began.

"What happened in the alley?" the man said, removing his fedora and sitting down. "And paint me a real picture."

Dean glanced over at Elena and she shrugged, rolling her eyes before turning to stare at the wall.

"All right, well, We're twelve-monkeyed no matter what we say, so here goes. We were chasing this dude. Uh, we'd just seen him mummify a guy. Yeah. So, I jumped him. He lights up red. Poof, we're in 1944." Dean explained.

The man stared at him before tossing a folder on the table and leaning forward.

"Tell me more about the red light." The detective said.

"Are you seriously asking…" Dean began.

"You want out of this jail, you're gonna tell me everything you can about that man and the so-called light." The man instructed hm.

"Okay. I saw it, and then we were here." He answered.

"Would you say that, uh... it was all around you or that more that it came from inside this fella?" he asked.

"You believe him." Elena said, leaning forward at the same time Dean's eyes widened.

"Are you...? You're a hunter." Dean said.

"I don't know what you're talking about." The man refused, leaning back.

"Demons, ghosts, shifters. Hey, we've killed 'em all." Dean said, gesturing between him and Elena. "And you're the same. Just sixty-eight years before me, huh?"

The man exhaled sharply and held out a hand to Dean.

"And your name is...?"

Dean shook his hand, his handcuffs rattling.

"Dean... Winchester. This is Elena Gilbert." He introduced them.

"Ness." The detective nodded at them. "Eliot Ness."

Both of their eyes widened and they looked at each other as they absorbed the new information.

* * *

Sam stood in the foreclosed house adding to research that was taped to a wall. His phone rang and he dove for it, answering it.

"Dean?"

"No." Jody answered, sounding suspicious. "Why? Where's Dean?"

"The thing that's been mummifying people took him and Elena in a frigging ball of light and disappeared." He sighed, flopping into a chair.

"You guys get that a lot?" Jody asked, sounding concerned.

"Yeah, more than most people." He replied.

"Well, I got you into this, so…"

"No, no, no, you didn't." Sam cut him off. "A-all you did was just…"

"Shut up, Sam. How I can help?" Jody asked.

"Well, um..." he hesitated before he spoke again. "How do you feel about driving and lifting boxes?"

* * *

They were no longer in handcuffs. Dean was walking around the room and Elena was leaning against the wall watching with her arms crossed over her chest.

"I-I got to tell you, I mean, _Untouchables_ is, like, one of my most favorite movies ever." Dean said, a grin on his face.

"What?" Ness said, raising his eyebrow at Dean.

"I must have seen that thing, like, fifty times." He said as Elena rolled her eyes.

""Seen it? What, like, I'm in the…" the famous detective began.

"Oh, yeah, yeah! You don't even know! Oh, you are…" Dean huffed and shook his head.

"Look, hey, wait, wait, wait. Let's just... slow it down. Okay?" Ness said, putting his hands up. "Now, time travel. Is that something you find up a lot of sleeves in the future or...?"

"No, no, no. It's, uh, not normally on the menu. Trust me. I'm as surprised as you are that I'm here."

Elena let out a laugh and Dean gave her a look.

"She hunts with you or was she in the wrong place at the wrong time?" the detective said, looking at her doubtfully.

She raised her eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest.

"She's a little different than a hunter." Dean said, glancing over at her.

Elena turned her glare on him and he smirked.

"She can hold her own, you don't have to worry about her." he assured Ness.

"A girl?" he said skeptically.

Dean let out a chuckle as Elena unfolded her arms and started forward.

"A girl who can kick your ass so bad your mother will cry in her grave." She threatened.

Eliot stared at her, stunned for a moment, before he let out a laugh.

"This is a hell of a dame you've got here." He informed Dean.

"I'm not his." Elena snapped, settling back against the wall.

"All right, can we discuss the time-traveling monster now?" Dean said, glancing between them.

Elena huffed and narrowed her eyes but remained quiet.

"So we're hunting the same thing, just in different centuries." Ness said, still eying Elena as he pushed a folder towards Dean before he opened a second one. "Two bodies. A few days apart just a little over a month ago. One witness said that she saw an assailant light up red after sucking the life out of a man."

"Awesome." Dean said, grinning.

"How does that fill you with awe?" the detective questioned.

Elena hid her smile as Dean's faded.

"Look, Dean, this thing, it kills…"

"In threes." They said at the same time and Eliot squinted at them.

"But you already know that." Dean nodded.

"He's two down. You two are coming with me. We've got to get this thing before it grabs the last one."

"Okay, so, so, wait, uh... does... does this mean that we're Untouchables now?" Dean asked, looking excited as he stood.

"It means we got to get you into some new clothes. You two look like some kind of bindlestiffs."

"Stiff your br… bin… what?" Dean said, following him with a furrowed brow.

* * *

They were sitting in the back of Ness's car as he drove through the city.

"We need to stay here until we find the guy." Dean murmured in a low voice.

"Well that's good because whatever the hell his magic was has put a lid on mine." Elena hissed back.

"What?" he asked, shocked.

"He doesn't travel the same way through time. He threw my powers off balance and I can't so much as jump from room to room." Elena said, sounding frustrated.

"Damn." Dean grumbled, sitting back.

"I told you taking cases with Dick out there wasn't a good idea." She said grumpily, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What were we supposed to do, ignore the deaths?" Dean demanded.

"Stick another hunter on them. We have a lot on our plate without getting thrown back in 1944." Elena fired back.

The car came to a stop and their argument was put on hold as they got out of the car. Ness walked into a shop and they glanced around at the passing people. Dean grinned at a soldier in his uniform. When they walked into the building, an older woman looked up at them.

"What's the rumpus, Eliot?" she said, raising an eyebrow when she saw Elena and Dean.

"Ezra Moore. Dean Winchester. Elena Gilbert." He said, pointing at them.

"Hey." Dean said with a slight wave.

They were in a clothing shop and the woman was hemming a pair of trousers on the counter.

"Who're they? Some farmer clown and his broad?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"They're, uh, from the future."

"Yeah." Dean nodded, leaning forward. "Gas costs four bucks. You can get cheese out of a spray can. And... the President, he's a black guy. I could go on."

"Paint me impressed." Ezra said dryly and Elena let out a laugh. "I assume you need some clothes. Come on."

They followed her into the back of the store with uncertain expressions.

* * *

Sam opened the door as soon as he heard a thump. Jody entered carrying two boxes.

"Hey, let me, uh… let me help you with those." Sam said, shuffling around her.

"No, I got these. You go get the other 20 in my truck." She said, grinning at him.

"Seriously?" he asked as she set them on the ground of the house.

"Yeah. I think Bobby may have had a slight hoarding issue. I could barely get the door open on that storage locker. And, um, I'm pretty sure something's alive in at least three of those boxes." She said.

Sam let out a sigh before turning to walk out.

* * *

"You have got to be kidding me." Elena said as Ezra handed her the clothes she was meant to wear.

"Oh you ain't seen nothin' yet, sweetheart." The woman said, holding up a set of curlers.

Elena sighed heavily and yanked them out of her hands before sitting at the dressing table littered with make-up.

"I'll come back and get you in a few minutes." Ezra said, smirking at Elena before walking out.

She did so in time to see Dean stepping out of another room wearing a dark suit. She'd already fixed his hair so that it was parted to the side. Eliot smiled and whistled as Dean spotted himself in a mirror. He began checking himself out as Ezra smoothed his suit jacket down from behind.

"Awesome." He breathed as he buttoned his jacket.

""Awesome? You some religious kook?" Ezra demanded.

"No, he just likes saying that." Eliot sighed with a shake of his head as he went back to reading his newspaper.

"So, spill already." Ezra said, walking around Dean to make sure he looked perfect. "What bucket of syrup did you two idjits step into?"

Dean's eyes widened and he chuckled, shaking his head.

"Something funny, sweetheart?" she asked with a raised eyebrow as she stepped away from him.

"No, you, uh... you just kind of remind me of someone." He said, a slight smile on his face.

"Okay, Ezra... we need your help. It seems we're hunting a time traveler." Eliot said, setting down his newspaper.

"Delightful." The woman sighed, moving around Dean. "Let me just go get your dame and we'll figure out who you're dealing with."

Dean waited with Eliot as Ezra disappeared into the back. They heard snappy voices and a slam that made them jump.

"I suppose it wasn't the best idea leaving those two alone." Eliot commented.

"Elena can be a little hard-headed sometimes." Dean admitted.

"Trust me, I know the type." Eliot said as the two women's bickering voices could be heard once again.

Suddenly the door opened and Ezra walked out holding a red jacket with a black fur collar and a black hat with a net on it.

"She'll be out momentarily." She said, smirking.

Sure enough, they heard heels clicking on the floor. The door opened again and Elena walked out. Dean froze and stared at her as she glared at Ezra before smoothing down the skirt of her black dress and walking to the mirror.

"Sit down." Ezra said.

"I'm not wearing the damn hat." Elena fired back, poking at her dark curls with a grimace.

"You have got the worse mouth for a young broad. I don't want to know what happens in the future if that's how you all act." Ezra said, shoving Elena away from the mirror and towards a chair.

She sat down with a sour glare at the wall. The look in her eyes told Dean that if they didn't need help, Ezra would be charred remains on the ground with a snap of her fingers. There was no use in smiting the person who could get them back to their own time. Her eyes finally fell on Dean and widened slightly.

"Looking good, honey." She said dryly, her eyes taking in every inch of him.

He squirmed under her inspection and huffed out a sigh.

"Eyes front, soldier." he said with a slight smirk as Ezra pinned the hat into Elena's hair.

She let out a short laugh before knocking Ezra's hands away and fixing the hat in position.

* * *

Sam was studying the research hanging on the wall while Jody was using the laptop to search the Federal Criminal Database Secure Server for their fedora man.

"Got it." she announced, bringing up an old photograph that included him.

"Is that a… is that a ring on his finger?" Sam asked, squinting as he leaned in close.

"Um..." she zoomed in on his hand and tilted her head slightly. "Yeah."

Sam frowned and hesitated before standing up to grab a binder which he brought back to the table.

"I know that symbol." He said, flipping through the pages.

* * *

They were all bent over a book that Ezra placed in front of them. Elena was between Eliot and Dean peering down at the symbol on the page.

"It's the infinite hourglass." Ezra informed them.

"That's the symbol I saw on his ring." Dean said confidently.

"Yeah, that's the mark of Chronos." She said.

"Who?" Dean and Elena asked at the same time.

* * *

"The God of time." Sam said, reading off the page.

"That's crazy." Jody said, shaking her head.

"The thing is, with the Old Gods, once upon a time they were… they were just short of invincible. But they got a lot of their mojo from worshippers, from people feeding them." Sam explained.

"These days, not so much." she nodded.

"Right, they're not what they used to be. But they make up for lack of power with being twice as pissed and a lot more hands-on." he said, looking at the page.

"Okay. So why's this God killing people?" Jody questioned.

* * *

"Could be he's killing folks for his time juice." Ezra asked as she put a gun into a holster.

Dean shoved a flask into his jacket as Elena picked up the red jacket that Ezra gave her.

"All right, well, how the hell are we gonna ride him back to 2012?" Dean questioned.

"Well, you could let him grab you, if you don't mind him using you for gasoline." Ezra said, smirking at him.

* * *

"It says here that his energy, no matter how diminished, causes a sort of magical power outage in other energy around him. That must be why Elena hasn't zapped them back. The magic that he used is temporarily repressing her powers." Sam realized.

"So, how do we get Dean and Elena back if she can't pop them back to present? How do we even find this Chronos?" Jody questioned.

"Best stab? We find a way to summon a God." Sam said, looking over at her.

* * *

:Look, let's just stick with what we know. Ezra, see if you can find something in all this junk that will kill a God." Eliot said, gesturing around at the books.

"No trouble at all. Come in a few hours, see what I can scrounge up." She agreed.

"You want to stay here and help her?" he asked Elena.

"I'm really more of a hands on girl." Elena replied.

He raised an eyebrow at her but didn't argue.

"You said you found his house? Well, let's go see if it's been built yet. And then let's kill that bastard, because that…"

"… is the Chicago way." Dean finished for Eliot in a deeper voice as he put on a fedora.

"Chicago way?" Ezra questioned.

"Who talks like that?" Eliot said as Elena fought back her laughter at Dean's poor imitation.

"Sean Connery." He said defensively.

"Come on." Eliot said with a roll of his eyes as Ezra helped Dean into his coat first.

"Never watch that movie again." Dean muttered as Elena slid on her red coat and buttoned it up.

He grabbed the gun and holster before following Eliot out the door. Ezra stopped Elena before she could leave. Before either woman could say anything, Ezra handed her a handgun as well as her dagger.

"Good thing about those coats? They have big pockets." She said simply.

Elena smiled slowly and slid the two weapons into her pockets before following the men out to the car.

* * *

They walked up to the same house that they saw Chronos at before in 2012. Dean peeked in as Eliot stood next to him and Elena remained back a few strides.

"It looks empty. You got a lock pick?" Dean asked, turning to Eliot.

Elena sighed and waved her hand, sending the door crashing open. Eliot turned to her with a shocked face and she smiled at him.

"By the way, I'm not normal." she said, walking past him and into the house as they drew their guns.

"Take a look around." Eliot instructed them as they walked through the nice house. "Where's he getting all the lettuce to support this?"

Dean picked up a large journal and he and Elena peeked into it. It contained horse-racing results.

"He's using the Biff strategy." Dean announced.

"Using what?" Eliot questioned, frowning at them.

"He's betting on races he already knows the outcome of." Elena nodded, taking the journal and flipping through it before handing it to Eliot.

"Look at this." Dean said.

"He's spent a lot of time in '44." The detective said as he flipped through the pages.

"Yeah." Dean pointed to initials in the journal. "What's L.Y.?"

"It's not a what. It's a who. Lester Young. He lays bets for a lot of the flunkies in town. Let's say we go pay him a visit." Eliot said with a smirk, looking up at them as he closed the journal.

* * *

Elena and Eliot watched from behind him as Dean shoved Lester Young down the stairs and into the interrogation room. He tossed him into a chair.

"Hey! W-whoa! Hey! Hey!" the man protested. "Easy with the jacket! Yeah, I ain't talking. I'm no stoolie."

Dean suddenly reared back and punched Lester, who fell backwards in the chair onto the ground. Eliot looked at Dean with a raised eyebrow as Elena walked in beside him.

"I learned it from watching you." Dean said defensively as he pulled Lester and the chair upright.

"Look, you seem like a swell guy, Lester." Eliot said.

Dean removed his fedora and shrugged off his jacket, setting them both on the table as Elena did the same, smoothing down her dress.

"And I want to help you out. I do, but my partner here?" he gestured back at Dean. "He just back from the war. And he's spent the last two years kicking in Nazi skulls. If he doesn't kick in a skull every couple days, he gets real touchy."

"Lester. That a German name?" Dean said, frowning at him.

"I really don't want anything getting violent here. Especially not with the lady in the room." Eliot said, gesturing to Elena.

"Hey, okay, okay. There's no need to snap your cap. W-who you looking for?" Lester asked, glancing at Dean worriedly before looking back at Eliot.

"Fella by the name of Snider." He said.

"What, that guy? I mean, bum never missed a bet, but he gave me the heebie-jeebies, so I cut him off." Lester said, shuddering and shaking his head.

"Where would you meet him for the payoff?" Ness questioned.

Lester hesitated and Dean raised his arm, stepping forward threateningly.

"T-the Early Bird!" Lester exclaimed. "It's a dive on Haggerty. Practically lives in the joint."

Dean glanced over at Eliot who nodded. Elena picked up his jacket and held it out for him to put it on. He glanced down at her and their eyes met for a moment.

"You feeling up to par yet?"

"They're coming back… slowly." she sighed, smoothing out his jacket once he put it on.

Dean watched her, suddenly seeing parts of his Elena, the old Elena, back in her tired look.

"You two lovebirds coming or not?" Eliot demanded as he ascended the stairs.

Elena and Dean flinched away from each other as if they suddenly realized how close they were. Elena's mask snapped back into place and she turned, walking up the steps without so much as looking at Dean again. He didn't care as he followed because he'd seen a glimpse at his old Elena and so he had hope that she might come back to him again.

* * *

They were researching as hard as they could throughout the night. They were both flipping through Bobby's books as quickly as they could to find anything on Chronos.

"Damn it." Sam sighed at the same time Jody exclaimed, "That's it!"

"Okay, yours sounds better. You first." Sam said, turning to her.

"It says here that people could summon Chronos to compel him to tell them their futures." She read off.

"And I've got the spell to do it right here." Sam nodded, gesturing to his book.

"So why the damn it?" she asked, confused.

"Cause calling Chronos isn't the problem. It's making sure we summon him when Dean and Elena are right there... literally with their hands on the guy, so they can surf him back." Sam said.

"That's not automatic?" she said, grimacing.

"No, it's more like we need to get the time on their end right to the exact second." Sam said, leaning back in the chair.

"Or we get an angry God but no big brother?" Jody realized.

"And he's trapped there forever." Sam nodded.

Jody picked up a bottle of whiskey with a handwritten note on.

"Fine, you ass. You win for once. Enjoy. R. Who's R?" she asked after she read it.

"Rufus, a family friend." Sam answered, sadness infecting his tone.

"Ah, right." Jody nodded.

"Wonder what they were betting over?" he said, leaning forward and taking the bottle from her.

"Well, whatever it was, Rufus sure was a sore loser." Jody said, smiling slightly.

Sam smiled as well, nodding.

"Yeah." He agreed.

"It's weird, huh? It's like their life's a big puzzle. You just keep finding pieces of it scattered all over the place." Jody said, taking the bottle as she sat down. "We should drink this. He'd want us to. Am I wrong?"

"It'd be rude not to." Sam shrugged.

* * *

They were sitting outside of the café that Lester told them about. Dean and Elena exchanged a look when they noticed that it was near to the alley that they appeared in. Dean glanced into the café to see Chronos sipping at a coffee with his fedora and coat still on.

"That's him." Dean said, nodding at the figure.

"Kind of puny for a God." Eliot commented as he drank from a flask.

He offered it to Dean but he shook his head.

"Thought you were, uh…" Dean hesitated when the detective offered the flask to Elena as a peace offering. "… thought you were Mr. Boy Scout."

Elena inhaled sharply as she swallowed the liquid that burned her throat.

"Why do you think I went after Capone in the first place? The guy had the best hooch in Chicago." Eliot said, smirking back at Elena as she handed it back.

He put it in his jacket pocket but waited for a moment before pulling it out again.

"So, now, w-who died in your life and made you a hunter?" Dean questioned.

"Who died? Nobody died, you morbid son of a bitch. I started doing this 'cause vampires were turning folks in Cleveland." Eliot scoffed.

"And you got the bug." He nodded.

"That's when I got the bug." The detective agreed before drinking from the flask again. "Sometimes you just want to punch through the red tape with a silver bullet. Yeah, hunting sets me free. Isn't that why you hunt?"

Dean hesitated as Elena glanced up at the front before looking back at the café.

"I used to do it 'cause that's what my family did." he began.

"Hmm." Eliot murmured.

"But they just seem to keep dying. To tell you the truth, I don't know why I'm doing much of anything anymore." he sighed.

There was a moment of silence as Eliot looked over at Dean and Elena made sure to look away from him.

"Boo-hoo. Cry me a river, ya nancy." Ness said as Elena fought the smile off of her face at his plain speak. "Tell me, are all hunters as soft as you in the future? Everybody loses everybody. And then one day, boom. Your number's up, but at least you're making a difference. So enjoy it while it lasts, kid, 'cause hunting's the only clarity you're gonna find in this life. And that makes you luckier than most."

Dean huffed as Ness turned back to the restaurant in time to see a young woman with long blonde hair walk out of the diner and right past their car.

"Hello, nurse." He mumbled.

Elena rolled her eyes but Dean noticed the door to the diner open again.

"Hey." He said, getting their attention.

They all saw Chronos leaving the diner and watched as he followed the woman. They quietly jumped out of the car. Eliot gave Elena a hesitant look but didn't say anything as she gave him a challenging look. He opened the trunk to his car and they all peered into it.

"Sweet merciful awesome." Dean breathed at the sight of the weapons that were organized into the trunk.

Ness rolled his eyes but handed Dean a shotgun and Elena a handgun. He took out his own handgun and they turned to pursue Chronos and the young woman. As they rounded the corner into the alley, they saw him grab her arm. Dean and Eliot raised their guns but Elena stopped them. The god pulled the woman in and suddenly they were kissing. Dean and Chronos looked at each other in confusion as Elena sighed and leaned against the wall.

* * *

They watched from the car as Eliot talked to someone in a small truck loaded with hay bales in the back. They'd followed Chronos and the woman to a house in a more rural area outside of Canton. Eliot nodded to the man before crossing back over to them.

"Well, everything's coming up us, kids." He said, leaning in the window.

"Talk to us." Dean answered.

"I am." Eliot said with a confused look before pointing back at the house. "The owner of the house, Miss Lila Taylor, age 20, lives alone. Take the car, head back to Ezra, see what she's got. I'm gonna stay here and keep my peepers on the Sheik and the Sheba."

Dean picked up the rifle and handed the detective his rifle before they drove away.

* * *

They looked down at the table with doubtful looks at a stake with a red tip.

"That's it?" Elena and Dean asked at the same time.

"That is a one-thousand-year-old olive carved by vestal virgins and dipped in the blood of…" Ezra hesitated as they looked up at her. "… you don't want to know. Pulling this together wasn't easy. You two and Ness owe me, smoothies."

"You can have whatever you want..." he said, picking up the stake. "...soon as we gank this thing."

"Yeah, yeah. Take your twig, wise guy." Ezra said, rolling her eyes.

"Well, now, how's it work?" Dean asked, looking up at her.

Ezra walked to Dean and gestured to the point.

"You stick this end in his heart. Miss, he has you for supper. Make sense?" she said.

"Wait, if we… if we kill Chronos... we're stuck here until..." he glanced over at Elena to see her wide-eyed expression.

"You just now realized? Oh, come on. 1944 ain't so bad." Ezra said, grinning at him.

"Yeah, we could head over to Europe, punch Hitler in the neck." Dean scoffed as Elena laughed quietly.

"Oh, there's lots of ways to pass the time, sugar." The older woman said, winking over at Elena.

Dean flushed and Elena looked away, fidgeting with her hat before spotting three addressed envelopes on the counter.

"Hey." She said, picking them up and turning to Dean.

It didn't take him long to figure out what she did.

"Back to the Future III." he commented before turning back to Ezra. "We need to borrow some paper."

* * *

They drove up to the house and Dean whistled as they looked up at it. It looked much better in 1944 than their present day.

"Jackpot." Dean commented, chuckling and drumming his hands on the steering wheel before he got out to walk inside.

Elena remained in the car so that he didn't have to explain her presence. No one would question Eliot Ness but to see a random agent with a female that they'd never heard of would be too strange to explain away in that decade. When he knocked on the door, an older man answered and squinted at him. Music floated out of the house.

"Can I help you, son?" he asked.

"Yes, sir. I am, uh, Special Agent Costner with the, uh..." he held out his FBI ID. "... Department of Homeland Termite Invasion."

"Termites?" the man questioned, his eyes widening.

"Yes, sir. There's been an outbreak all over this area, and I just want to do an inspection, make sure that the, uh, perimeter's secure." He nodded.

"Yes. Yes, of course. Um, you'd better come in."

The house owner stepped aside and Dean walked in. He proceeded up the stairs as the man looked on. When he opened the door to the bedroom that he knew Sam was in 2011. He switched on the light and moved the bed away from the wall. Dean squinted around the room as he judged a good place to leave the note. When he laid on the ground in the exact place where Sam put his makeshift bed, the old man came into the room.

"Is everything okay up here?" he asked hesitantly, freaked out by Dean's behavior.

He leaned up on an elbow and peered up at the old man.

"What?! Oh, yeah… no! No, no. Not to worry, because I'm going to install something that will protect this house forever." He assured the man.

The house owner nodded and Dean gave him a thumbs up with a smile. As he left the room, Dean laid back down and looked around again. When he saw the bottom of a doorframe on the other side of the room, he smiled slightly and sat up, walking over and taking out his switchknife.

"Yeah." He claimed triumphantly.

* * *

"You are toast." Jody informed Sam as she walked into the house with coffee and food.

He lifted his head from the table with a start and sighed heavily.

"I'll keep pushing. You go get some shut-eye." She urged as she set it down on the table in front of him.

"Uh, that's okay. I can, uh..." Sam reached for a coffee but the sheriff immediately took it back from him.

"Do I have to use my mom voice?" Jody asked, raising her eyebrow at him.

Sam collapsed face down on the bedroll with his eyes firmly closed. He put his hand underneath to use as a pillow and shifted around to find a comfortable position. Sam's eyes fluttered and he sighed, turning his head to face the other wall. Suddenly his mind caught up to his sight and his head snapped back around. He jumped up and turned on a portable lamp, crawling over to the wall and peering at the base of the doorframe. His name was scratched crudely into the wood. He smiled slightly and broke the piece of frame away to reveal a piece of paper. He quickly unfolded it, reading through the letter.

Jody stood from the table as he hurried down the stairs.

"All right. You asked for it. Young man…"

Sam shoved the paper into her face before she could lecture him with her 'mom voice'. Jody took it and began to read it aloud.

"Sammy, turns out Snider is Chronos." Her eyes widened. "Wait, this is from Dean? How…"

"Just read!" Sam exclaimed excitedly.

"We rode him to 1944, are working with Eliot Ness… yes, that one."

Jody looked up at him with a raised eyebrow and Sam grinned.

"Tracked down Chronos. He's banging some chick named Lila Taylor and we got a weapon. We're going after him. Take care of yourself, Sam."

"Look at the top." Sam urged her.

"November 5… 1944."

"So, now we know the exact date Dean had hands on Chronos. All we need is the exact time." Sam said excitedly.

"Which we get how?" she questioned.

"Hoping..." he said, taking back the letter. "...we ask someone who was there."

His finger stabbed at the name 'Lila Taylor'.

* * *

They walked into the room that they were directed to by the retirement home receptionist. An older woman was standing at the television holding a remote. Jody approached her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Miss Lila Taylor?" she questioned.

"Oh, can you get The Sullivan Show? I want to watch that Frankie Valli." The woman asked.

"Um, actually..." she held up her badge. "... we're with the police."

"Oh." Lila sighed. "Is Michael in trouble again?"

She turned and jumped slightly when she saw Sam. When she sat on a couch, Jody and Sam sat on footrests nearby.

"I told him not to read those comic books." Lila said, looking up at them.

"Uh, no, no, no, no. He's, uh… he's fine. We'd wanted to ask you some questions about this man."

Jody handed her the newspaper photograph of Chronos.

Ethan. That's Ethan." The old woman realized, her eyes lighting up slightly.

"Do you remember the last time you saw Ethan?" Jody questioned.

"Of course. November 1944 – the night the clocks stopped." Lila nodded.

"Th-the clocks stopped?" the sheriff questioned.

"11:34. Every clock in the house." she nodded.

"Ma'am, can you tell us anything else you remember?" Sam questioned.

"Ethan... said awful things. And then... and then he strangled that poor man." she said, looking devastated.

"What poor man?" Sam said, suddenly concerned.

"Two policemen and a woman came to arrest Ethan." Lila said.

Sam held up a picture of Dean.

"Ma'am, was this one of them?"

Lila nodded tearfully.

"Ethan choked the life out of that man." she said, her voice cracking.

* * *

They creeped up towards the farmhouse. Dean was holding a shotgun from Ness's car while Elena held a handgun. Her knife was in her jacket pocket. When they heard a crash, they exchanged a look before Dean broke into a run. Elena hurried behind him as he bent down and tried to pick the lock. Elena pulled him up with a roll of her eyes and held her hand out, flicking it and slamming the door open. Dean rushed past her.

"Ness! Ness!" he called.

Suddenly a fist came flying out and slammed into Dean's face, knocking him to the ground. Elena launched in and tackled Chronos to the ground. He wrestled around with her as Dean tried to figure out a way to get him away. When he had her pinned to the ground and prepared to hit her, a cry stopped him.

"Ethan!"

They all looked up to see Eliot holding Lila to him and pointing a gun at her stomach.

"Let's talk." The detective said.

* * *

Sam and Jody were in the main room of the house again preparing for the spell that would summon Chronos. He took out an hourglass and set it in a bowl.

"Here, break this." he said to the sheriff.

She covered it with a cloth as he sorted through the other ingredients. A shattering noise sounded as she smashed the glass with her gun.

* * *

"Please don't hurt her." Chronos said, standing up slowly and stepping away from Elena and Dean.

"Ethan, what's happening?" Lila whimpered.

"Yeah, Ethan. What the hell?" Dean demanded, standing up and helping Elena to her feet.

"Lila, I'm sorry, but, you just… everything I said to you is true…" the god said, looking at her pleadingly.

"Oh, he might have left out a few details." Elena scoffed.

"He tell you he's a monster who jumps through time?" Dean continued, raising an eyebrow at him.

"I'm a god!" Chronos shouted, his eyes flashing in anger.

Lila flinched and he noticed, his gaze softening.

"Look, I'm not a monster. Listen. I'm the opposite." He sighed.

"Well, don't forget to tell her about all the people you murdered along the way, boy scout." Eliot reminded him.

"What?" Lila said, her eyes widening further in shock.

"It's not like that. I do it for you, Lila." Chronos said, holding his hands out towards her.

"I don't understand." The blonde said.

* * *

Sam slowly unfolded a piece of paper and set it on the table. Jody emptied ingredients from plastic bags into the bowl as he picked up a knife. He sliced his palm with a knife and wrote 11:34 with his blood on the piece of paper. Then he threw it into the bowl and wrapped a piece of cloth around his hand.

* * *

"Well, he's not as strong as he used to be. Isn't that right, Ethan?" Dean said.

Chronos hesitated, glancing between him and Lila.

"Now you got to suck people dry. Wild guess… it takes three kills to juice you up." Elena guessed.

"Sacrifices." He sighed. "Three sacrifices, and I can control when and where I land. But once I get there, it's never for long before I'm tossed through time again. That's my life, Lila. And all I want is to get back here."

"Because you just love the clean Canton air?" Eliot scoffed.

"Because I love her!" he exclaimed.

He searched their faces before focusing on Lila again.

"Because I lived the worst existence you can imagine, and then I found you." he said, gazing at her.

"After you killed Tyler Crosby and Cathy Porter? Lila here was gonna be victim number three. Am I right? Don't act like you never killed a soul before you met her, pal. Something tells me you used to kill three saps just for a change of scenery." Eliot said, looking at him with disgust as Lila looked terrified at all of the new information she was getting.

"Yes, I did." the god admitted begrudgingly, stepping towards the detective and Lila.

"Back down." Eliot snapped, readjusting the gun.

"I-I used to wander, but now I have you." Chronos said, gazing into her eyes.

"I knew Cathy." Lila whimpered. "She used to come into the diner every day."

Elena's eyes glanced to the side as Dean slid something out of his back pocket.

"Lila, please." Chronos pleaded.

"You are a monster." Lila accused him, tears sliding down her cheeks.

"No, Lila, please!"

Dean lifted the stake and prepared to stake the god. At the last moment, Lila's eyes moved to him and Chronos whirled around to grapple with him. He broke his hold on the stake and it fell to the floor. As Elena dove to grab it, Ness shot Chronos twice in the back but it did nothing. His grip went to Dean's throat and he began squeezing.

* * *

"O khrone parakaloumen se thespizein..." Sam began chanting.

Jody lit a match and lit the piece of paper up before dropping it into the bowl.

"...hemin khronon ton mellonta."

* * *

A red light grew in Chronos's chest just as Elena raised the stake to shove it into his heart.

"No!" the god yelled, panicked.

He tightened his grip on Dean just as the grandfather clock switched to 11:34. Elena launched forward and prepared to stab him.

"Hey, Untouchable!" Eliot said, gaining Dean's attention and causing him to turn so that Chronos was facing away from Elena.

Suddenly there was an explosion of red and white light and they were all thrown off balance. When they found their footing again, Elena staggered into the wall as Dean and Chronos fell to the floor.

"Dean! Elena!" Jody yelled, running to them and bending down to help Dean.

Chronos jumped to his feet and Sam ran at him. The god turned to him and blocked his punch before sending him sprawling to the floor.

"No!" Chronos shouted before turning on Dean, who was still on the floor with Jody cradling his head in her hands. "You! Destroyed everything!"

"Hey!"

He whirled around in time for Elena to shove the stake through his chest. The god stared at her in shock as white light pulsed in his chest and flickered up his neck. He fell to his knees before reaching out and grasping Elena's hand. She tried to pull away but he kept a strong grip.

"You want to know your future? I know your future." He said, grinning as blood leaked out of his mouth.

Chronos glanced over at Dean before looking back at her.

"It's covered in thick black ooze."

Dean looked over at Sam with wide eyes.

"It's everywhere."

Chronos looked back to Dean, looking amused and furious.

"They're everywhere." He said, laughing. "Enjoy oblivion."

Suddenly he pitched forward and didn't move anymore. Elena sighed, her shoulders slumping as Dean and Sam looked at each other.

* * *

Dean was holding an ice pack to his head as he checked on the news on the computer. Jody was long gone and Sam was upstairs sleeping. Elena disappeared soon after their confrontation with Chronos to burn his body in the middle of the Sahara desert where nothing would happen. When the front door opened, Dean glanced up.

"That's different." He commented as Elena walked in.

She looked at him with a furrowed brow.

"I feel different." She commented, walking to the table with a brown paper bag in her hand, setting it down with a clink.

"I thought his death would reset your abilities." Dean said, closing his computer.

"It did. I'm fine in that respect but… whatever he did when he grabbed my hand… I feel supercharged. I don't know how that's possible but when I landed in the Sahara, I felt like I could go anywhere in time. It wasn't like the time with the angels. I think that I might have reacted to his time traveling abilities when he was dying." Elena explained, sitting back in her chair and reaching up to unpin her hat.

Dean looked down and realized that she was still in her 1940's outfit just as he was. Elena noticed the same thing and a small smile flickered across her face before it disappeared.

"That's the first time you've actually told me what's going on with you since… since Dick." Dean said simply.

Elena's eyes flashed to him for a moment and she sighed, unbuttoning her jacket and sliding it off. She adjusted her dress before she dug into the paper bag and pulled out a bottle of Dean's favorite whiskey along with two cups. The hunter watched as she poured out the liquid and held the cup to him.

"To being Untouchables." Dean muttered, not bothering to ask why she was doing this.

Elena nodded before drinking the entire drink in three gulps and pouring both of them more. Dean watched in shock for a few minutes as she downed three more. When she informed him that there were three more bottles, he got busy on drinking his and catching up to her.

"1944 wasn't that bad." Elena sighed, leaning forward onto the table and laying across her outstretched arms.

"Nah, the outfits were nice." Dean said, smoothing down his suit jacket.

Elena huffed out a laugh before reaching out and brushing lint off of his shoulder.

"Very nice." She agreed, smoothing her thumb over the white collar of his shirt.

Dean stared at her as she did so and her eyes flickered up to meet his. Her hand slid up of its own volition and drifted over his neck before resting on his cheek. Her thumb swept over his cheekbone as they stared into each other's eyes. Dean reached up and squeezed her hand before reaching up her arm and to her shoulder. He proceeded to wrap his arm around her back and he pulled her towards him.

Elena went willingly, standing before perching on his lap. Her whiskey-covered lips met his easily and clumsily. Dean's arms slid around her waist as her hands tangled into his hair. Their kiss was sloppy and fumbling but it set their bodies on fire. Suddenly she yanked away, blinking at him in shock.

"Don't do that." she hissed, staring at him.

"You kissed me back." Dean replied, glancing up at her surprised eyes.

Elena hesitated before leaning away. Before he knew it, the warm body in his arms disappeared and he was left alone in the room. Dean sighed heavily and leaned forward, laying his head on the cool table and wondering what the hell just happened.

* * *

**Review please! You are going to see more of the old Elena peeking out. I never wanted her to be fully brainwashed and there are going to be more slipups as time goes by. That doesn't mean she's cured. There's a lot of stuff to go through before everything can be okay again. Thanks for reading! **


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I do not own TVD or Supernatural**

**Thanks to RHatch89, klausgirl4055, SwanQueen4055, MaddAlice, Dean Winchester Rocks, Nyssandria, Lady K 101, DrawingMyHeartOut, chiwi-luv, animagirl, and DemonTrapsAndVervain for reviewing!**

**Just to let you know, I am skipping the Slice Girls because having Dean sleeping with another woman is just weird in my story.**

**Sorry for the delay in update. I really will try to get out the next chapter faster.**

**Elena's outfits are on my profile.**

* * *

Elena lounged on the hood of the car of the week as Sam leaned against it. They both watched Dean jog over to the phone booth as it rang loudly. The phone in a nearby phone booth rings.

"Where's your ride?" Sam asked, glancing over at her.

"He insisted that I use it sparingly, especially since the Leviathan might have seen me on it in Mystic Falls." Elena said, crossing her legs as she nodded at Dean.

"Hello?" they heard him say into the phone with a grimace as he turned to face them.

There was a moment of silence and Dean rolled his eyes.

"I am the eggman."

Sam smiled as Elena bit back a laugh at his disgruntled tone.

"Seriously, Frank, pay phones? I mean, come on. I… I'm getting the clap off this thing just touching it." Dean said, shuddering.

They watched as he conversed with the less than sane man.

"Fred Savage? Really? Yeah, no, I know, big mouths are everywhere."

Dean nodded as Frank said something.

"Uh, well, since you asked, some actual intel on the Dick Roman guy would be nice." He said as Sam turned to his newspaper and scanned the article that Elena showed him.

"Fine. All right. Yeah, good looking out." Dean sighed before hanging up.

He scowled at his hand as he exited the booth and walked towards them. Elena dug in her purse and tossed him a thing of hand sanitizer. He gave her a grateful look and she nodded at him before looking at Sam.

"I hope he finds something quick. This whole protocol du jour thing's really creeping my cheese." Dean commented as Sam pushed off of the car.

"So, we got dick on Dick?" the younger brother questioned.

Elena and Dean both looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"That's a vivid way of putting it." Dean commented. "You find anything?"

"Elena did." Sam answered, holding up the Wichita Sun newspaper with the headline, **Peculiar death baffles authorities**.

"All right, well, let's do it." Dean agreed, walking around to the driver's side of the bright yellow car.

Elena sighed and slid off of it, moving towards the backseat.

"I hate this car. It smells disgusting." She informed them.

"You think you have it bad… I miss my baby." Dean grumbled as he turned on the car and it emitted a whine before the engine rumbled to life.

* * *

The coroner pulled back the sheet on the body as Sam and Dean looked on. They both jerked back at the sight of the raised sores of various sizes that looked like they were made by tentacles.

"Ohh. Those are not the fun kind of hickeys." Dean said, grimacing.

"You're… you're saying an octopus did this?" Sam questioned, looking at the doctor.

"Not just any octopus. Based on welt diameter, enteroctopus dofleini." The man replied.

They both stared at him blankly.

"And for those of us who skipped the enteroctopus class?" Dean asked.

"Giant Pacific octopus."

Both of their eyes went to the wounds.

"How giant we talking, Doc?" Dean said, glancing back up.

"Approximately 30 feet." He answered.

Sam laughed briefly and the man stared back at him.

"I mean, aren't... giant octopi rare around here?" he said.

"Yet here we are." The doctor said, gesturing to the body.

"All right, so what happens? Guy comes home, cracks a beer, and gets... suckered to death?" Dean questioned doubtfully.

"Obviously, this was some kind of freak fetish attack. Someone created those hickey marks, then bled the man out." the coroner turned the dead man's head to expose a wound on the side of his throat.

* * *

"That bite look a little vamp-y to you?" Dean suggested as they climbed into the car.

"Yeah, no question." Sam agreed.

"This guy was really tentacled to death?" Elena asked doubtfully, leaning into the front seat.

"It seems like it. So what are we looking for? An octovamp? A vamptopus?" the older brother said, trying to come up with names for what they could be looking for.

"That's crazy even for us, right?" Sam questioned.

"It does push the envelope. Let's go chat up the widow." Dean nodded as they climbed into the car.

"Great, I'll go to the hotel and check in." Elena said before disappearing.

Dean sighed and leaned forward, thumping his head against the steering wheel.

"So…" Sam said, glancing at his brother. "Did anything happen in your tour of 1944 that I should know about?"

Dean looked up at him and shook his head.

"No, 1944 went fine. It was… fine." He said.

Sam nodded, a doubtful look in his eyes.

"Though you may need to know that the night we got back, Elena and I might have gotten drunk and kissed." Dean admitted.

Sam's eyes widened and Dean threw the car into drive, taking off.

"You wanna… explain?" he asked.

"Not even a little bit." Dean replied.

The younger brother huffed, knowing he wasn't going to get anything else out of his brother.

* * *

"We're very sorry for your loss, ma'am." Sam said

The wife of the man who died by octovamp sniffed and blew into a kleenex. Dean grimaced before opening his mouth to ask her a question.

"Mrs. Harper, we know this is, uh, bad timing. But we just have a few routine questions that we need to ask you… is that okay?" he said, balancing the coffee cup in his hand.

"Yeah." She nodded.

"Did the house feel any different lately?" Sam asked.

"Different...?" Mrs. Harper said, confusion wrinkling her forehead.

"Anything strange. Cold spots. Uh, did you smell anything weird? Maybe sulfury?" Dean questioned.

"No. Not that I can remember." She shook her head.

"Okay, we're just ticking all the boxes here. Um, what about any skeletons in your husband's closet?"

"Skeletons?" the woman said, staring at Dean. "What do you mean?"

"Can you think of anybody who would want to do him harm? A colleague, an old flame." Dean said.

"The tiniest detail could really help." Sam informed her.

"You want to know what he was up to lately? Ask Stacey." They were both taken aback by the bitter tone that filled her voice. "She was here the night he died."

"Um... Stacey?" Sam asked.

"Our nanny. Any other questions?" Mrs. Harper said, putting her Kleenex down.

"No, that's... Thank you. You've been a big help." Dean nodded at her.

They set their coffee cups down before standing up to leave.

"Really appreciate the hospitality, ma'am." Sam said kindly, smiling at her as they walked towards the door, neither of them seeing the little girl watching them from the top of the stairs.

"Mom, dad, nanny… boy, that is a love triangle right out of Casa Erotica. 'Course, in those, the jealous wife tends to channel her feelings more productively." Dean said, smirking as they approached the car.

"The only thing I can't wrap my mind around is…" Sam sighed.

"What, how wife lady summoned an octovamp?" the other brother questioned.

"More like why? I mean, kind of impractical, right?" the younger hunter said, leaning against the car.

"Yeah. All right, one of us needs to go talk to the naughty nanny." Dean said, walking around to the other side of the car. "The other one stay here, shake down the place when the wife leaves… see what we're dealing with."

"All right. I'm on the nanny." Sam volunteered.

"I'm on the nanny." Dean corrected him.

Sam scoffed and stared at him.

"You're already dealing with shit with Elena and you really want to go talk the 'naughty nanny'? I thought you were done with appreciating hot chicks ever since you met her."

Dean huffed and shrugged.

"We don't know that she's hot."

Sam gave him a look before turning to walk off.

* * *

"Now, uh, how would you describe your relationship with the deceased?" Dean asked as he stood in the kitchen with the hot nanny.

"I don't know. Normal, I guess." She shrugged before drinking out of a bottle of water.

"Normal?"

"Well, I mostly dealt with Debra. There was nothing going on, if that's what you mean." Stacey informed him.

"Debra said that you were at the house late the night that, uh, that Brian died." He reminded her.

"Yeah. Brian was working late, so I stayed with Kelly. She was pretty upset." The nanny nodded.

"Why's that?" he asked.

"Well, it was her birthday. We had a party at Plucky's."

Dean faltered, thinking for a moment.

"Plucky's. Why does that sound familiar?" he said, searching his memories for why it was familiar.

"Plucky Pennywhistle's Magical Menagerie? Pizza chain for kids. Actually, more for lazy parents. Anyway, her dad showed up for five minutes, then he went back to work. And, of course, her mom was out of town. This stupid kid told Kelly her folks didn't really love her. She freaked. I was calming her down for hours." Stacey said, sounding angry.

"Uh, did you... notice anything weird at the house?" Dean asked, shrugging aside the pizza chain for the moment.

"Weird like...?" she replied, looking lost.

"Anything. Even a bad feeling." He explained.

"No, nothing like that." she shook her head, turning away.

Suddenly she stopped and considered something, turning back to face him.

"Actually, Kelly does have a weird thing about closets. But it's just kid stuff."

"Try me." Dean said, smiling.

"She thinks there's a monster in her closet. It drives everyone crazy." Stacey sighed, rolling her eyes.

* * *

"Hey, we talked to the wrong person." Dean said to Sam on the phone, who was still standing outside the widow's home.

"What?"

"Yeah, forget the mom. Talk to the daughter. She's mad at her dad for ditching her birthday." Dean informed him.

"So, what do you think? A birthday wish gone wrong, something like that?" Sam questioned, walking up to the house.

He was surprised to see Elena suddenly standing there waiting on him.

"I don't know. It could be."

"I got a 20 on her right now. Elena is here too." he said.

"Yeah I figured I should send Elena there so that you can get to her without tripping the Amber Alert."

Sam frowned and rolled his eyes before hanging up. Elena glanced over at him and sighed.

"Let's get this over with." She said.

"You're a ball of sunshine." Sam muttered.

"Always." She replied, walking up to the little girl with him.

Before he knew it, Elena transformed in front of his eyes. Her face softened and she knelt down, causing the girl to look up with surprise.

"Whatcha working on there?" she asked, smiling at her as she gestured to the chalk drawing she was doing.

Sam was shocked to see that the smile even reached her eyes, causing them to sparkle and the little girl to relax immediately before she looked up at Sam.

"I know who you are." She said, narrowing her eyes at him.

"You do?" Sam asked, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Mm-hmm. You're the guy that talked to my mom." she said, nodding.

"That's right. I did." He agreed.

"Kelly! Where are you, honey?" they heard Mrs. Harper yelling from inside the house.

Kelly's eyes widened and she glanced over her shoulder.

"Something wrong?" Sam asked.

"My mom will get mad if I talk to you." the girl said, turning to face Elena.

"How come?" Elena asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Because of what I told the police." Kelly said quietly.

"And what did you tell the police?"

"I told them that I tried to warn my dad. That the monster would get him." she said, looking terrified.

The front door suddenly opened and Mrs. Harper glared at them.

"Kelly. Come here! Now! Kelly!"

Kelly stood and ran into the house. The widow gave them both a severe look before slamming the door closed. Elena's face hardened once again as she looked down at the drawing that Kelly was doing in chalk.

"Sam." she said, standing and moving around to look at it from the right direction.

He walked over and they glanced down at the white drawing. It was an octopus with sharp teeth and an unfriendly expression. They exchanged a wary look before walking away from the house.

* * *

Elena and Dean peered through the huge, bloodstained hole in the fence before glancing back at the covered body on the gurney. They straightened up and watched as the coroner loaded the body into the ambulance. Dean turned to the police officer to talk to him as Elena fixed her skirt.

"Hey. Um... Okay, so, the horse I get. The hoofprints, the jumping over the fence. But, uh, what ran him through?" he asked.

"Best thing I could tell you is something big." The officer shrugged.

"So, what, like a lance?" Elena questioned.

The man shrugged. Dean glanced at the ambulance and saw a crying woman huddled beside it.

"It's sad. Lady's got to pull her friggin' 8-year-old out of school and tell him his dad's dead." The police officer said before moving away.

Dean and Elena exchanged a look before darting forward to talk to her.

"Excuse me." Dean held out his FBI badge as she turned back towards him.

"Excuse me, ma'am? Agent Jones, FBI."

"I'm sorry. I - I really need to go." the widow stammered.

"Okay. Uh, just one quick question, if you don't mind. Um, was yesterday your son's birthday?" Dean asked.

"Billy's birthday? No. Why would you ask that?" she replied, confused.

"Nothing." Dean sighed. "Never mind."

"Oh. But..." she stopped them as if she remembered something. "His father did take him to a friend's birthday party yesterday."

Dean nodded and turned to Elena. She stared up at him questioningly as he studied her face, suddenly distracted by what he was about to say as flashbacks of their kiss went through his mind.

"I need to call Sam." he said.

Elena nodded.

"Then call him." she said, stepping towards the car.

Dean nodded and dialed his number before holding the phone to his ear.

"Hey." Sam answered.

"Hey. You remember a chain called Plucky Pennywhistle's?" he said.

There was a long pause.

"No." Sam said, sounding shaken.

"Really? Could have swore you loved those places." Dean said, shrugging.

"No, dude, I hated them. Uh, you would dump me and go trolling for chicks."

Dean chuckled as he remembered.

"It's not like I left you in jail. I mean, those places are supposed to be fun."

"Fun? Uh, they're lame. And they smell like puke. And the ice cream is all grainy." Sam ranted, showing that he did obviously remember the place quite vividly.

"All right, don't have one of your episodes, okay?" Dean scoffed, rolling his eyes. "I'm just saying I hit a dead end with this whole wishes-gone-wild thing, but both kids were at Plucky's day of. Look, why don't you go check out the local Plucky's and ask about this Billy kid?"

There was another lengthy silence.

"Look, man, w-why don't I just... why don't I just wait for you to get back?" Sam stammered.

"No can do, Hermano. I'm on my way to talk to little Billy." Dean replied.

"Why… why… why don't I talk to Billy right now?"

Dean frowned before he realized what was going on and let out a laugh.

"Wait, wait, wait. This isn't about your, uh, your clown thing, is it?"

"What?! No!" Sam answered too quickly.

"Sammy?" Dean said, not believing him as Elena smirked on the other side of the car.

"No." Sam said with less certainty.

"Yeah, what in the world did they do to you?" Dean said, grinning.

There was no answer except for a heavy sigh.

"All right, you know what? Never mind. Just know that 99.99% of all clowns can't hurt you." he said, feeling stupid having to explain this to his grown brother. "Okay? And if it bleeds you can kill it. I'll send Elena over to Plucky's to protect your ass."

He shook his head and hung up before Sam could reply. Elena squinted at him from across the car.

"Why do I have to go to the shitty pizza place?" she snapped.

"Because I don't want to deal with Samantha's girly fits. Please?" Dean requested.

Elena sighed and rolled her eyes.

"You owe me a bottle of tequila. Several bottles of tequila. We aren't doing that whiskey shit tonight." She commented, turning to walk away.

Dean sighed, dropping his head at the mention of their drunken kiss as he ducked into the Impala.

* * *

Sam stared up at the building with wide eyes as he sat behind the wheel of the Jeep that he managed to find. His heart pounded as he looked upon the clown that was sitting on top of the building.

"I'm too old for this." he sighed.

A banging noise sounded and he jumped, his head whipping around to see Elena standing there laughing at his overreaction. He gave her a glare as he climbed out.

"Come on, Sammy. I'll protect you from the evil clowns." She said, rolling her eyes as they turned to walk into the restaurant and playhouse.

They walked in and a recorded message played over their head.

"Welcome to Plucky Pennywhistle's! Have fun!"

Sam immediately flinched at a large picture of a clown on the wall and exhaled sharply as Elena fought back her laughter. They walked to the counter to find a staff member named Howard standing there with a big smile.

"Welcome to Plucky's, where all your dreams are good." He said cheerfully, gesturing to the clown statue next to him.

"Could you just, uh, maybe..." Sam held up his FBI badge as Elena leaned on the counter next to him. "... just get the manager for me?"

Howard stared between them before nodding and walking off.

"Come on." Elena said, turning to walk in the room.

She was ahead of him so she didn't see him flinching at all of the clown signs and statues surrounding him. Elena caught sight of an employee crouching next to a young boy who was seated at a child-sized table.

"I just need you to stay sane for three more hours. Okay?" she said tiredly as she handed him a notebook. "Here. Finish your homework."

She turned to walk away and Elena caught sight of her nametag that said, Libby.

"Like I can concentrate in here!" The boy called after her, sounding disgruntled.

The mother paused but didn't turn around. Elena was distracted by another woman and her son who were walking past, the young boy staring at her outfit with wide eyes.

"Get a longer skirt." The mother scoffed, glaring at her.

Elena stared back.

"Get a taller child." She brushed off, passing her and walking with Sam to a wall that had a sign on it.

"Draw your worst fear... Plucky will make your fear disappear." She read as she looked at the placemats that held all sorts of monster drawings and such.

There was one missing that belonged to **Kelly Harper**. Sam and Elena exchanged a look.

"Real beauties, huh?" They both turned to see the manager walking up to them. "We rotate them out once a week. Kids love having their art on the wall."

"Draw your worst fear?" Sam questioned.

"I know. But we don't post the truly evil stuff… just the standard crap like sharks and ghosts." She nodded, glancing up at the wall before holding her hand out to them.

"Jean Holiday, shift manager."

"Johnson, FBI. This is my assistant, Natasha Romanov."

Jean looked at Elena doubtfully as she glared at Sam for the alias.

"So tell me… why even ask the kids to draw creepy stuff to begin with?" Sam questioned.

"It's just an exercise some pop psychologist came up with. Plus, the owner's obsessed with aiding children's development. So, the place mat is a safe way to get kids to talk about their fears. You know, we get them to sketch it in a little box, and voila! Plucky magically transforms it into rainbows and candy. Personally, I think it's a load of hooey, but they say that if these fears run wild, then it affects kids long into their adulthood."

A laughing clown walked between them and Sam flinched as it got too close to him.

"Yeah, I've… I've… I've heard that." he stammered as Elena hid her smirk. "Um... so, I… I don't know if you'll remember, but there was a… a kid in here yesterday named Billy Pogue for a party?"

"Oh, the conniption kid." Jean nodded.

"Conniption? He… he had…" Sam said, confused.

"No, no, no, not him. He was fine. It was his dad. He pulls the kid away before cake and presents, and I guess the kid asked to stay for another five minutes. The dad pulls a full-frontal douchebag, starts screaming. Just embarrassed for the kid."

Someone called Jean and she nodded at them.

"Let me know if you need anything else." she said before hurrying away.

"I'll call Dean." He said, pulling out his phone.

They heard a whistle as they walked towards the exit and both stopped.

"Hey!" there was another whistle. "Hey!"

They both turned to see a janitor nearing them, glancing around to see who was watching. They walked over to him in sync, both wearing frowns.

"You cops?" he hissed.

"Uh, yeah. We're Feds." Sam replied.

"Uh, what are you investigating?" the janitor asked, looking sneaky.

"Couple of crazy deaths." Sam answered.

"Why, is there something you want to share?" Elena asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Look – not now. Too many eyes. Come back after closing." he whispered before drifting away.

Elena and Sam exchanged a strange look before walking out of the place.

"Natasha Romanov? Is this a comic book?" Elena questioned as they climbed into the Jeep.

"My mind blanked. I was stressed." Sam said miserably as he turned on the car.

"Oh… I thought you were going to make a joke about the Black Widow and spiders and me." Elena commented, propping her feet on the dashboard.

"Well… that too." Sam said, smirking as they drove away and Elena smacked his arm lightly.

* * *

Sam and Elena entered the motel room to see that Dean was pulling Chinese food out of a take-out bag.

"Hey. So, what's the lowdown with trauma town?" the older Winchester asked, smirking.

Sam made a face as Elena laughed once and Dean smiled at his own joke.

"I can tell you this much. Neither vic was up for parent of the year. Kelly's dad skipped her birthday, and Billy's dad pulled one of those Dick Parent scenes that makes everyone cringe." Sam answered, placing some of the placemats on the table that he'd stolen from the place.

"What the hell are these?" Dean asked, frowning at them.

"Kid therapy. Um, you draw your worst nightmare… poof! Plucky fixes it. Um, they hang them up on this big wall." Sam explained.

"Well, can't argue with this." he said, pointing to one of the mats. "Leprechauns are deadly."

Sam snorted and shook his head as Elena reclined on one of the beds.

"Okay, so, Kelly draws a monster, and then that goes after her father? That's what we're saying?" Dean asked doubtfully, sitting next to her to eat.

"Well, here's the thing." Sam said, watching with sharp eyes as Elena stole Dean's chopsticks and took the bite of food on them herself. "They label those. And guess which two were missing. Well, name tag was there… no place mat."

"Little Miss Octovamp." Dean said, giving Elena a fake-angry look as she handed the fork back with an innocent yet satisfied look.

"Yeah. And... Billy. So... somehow, whatever he drew came to life and killed his dad, riding a horse." Sam said, poking at his food with chopsticks.

"Close, but no Seabiscuit. See, I went and had a little chat with Billy. And he drew me this."

Dean pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and unfolded it on the paper. On it was a unicorn with a rainbow-colored tail. A person was impaled on the unicorn's horn.

"Wait. So now unicorns are evil?" Elena questioned.

"Yeah. Obviously." Dean said, smirking over at her.

She rolled her eyes and took his egg roll, taking a bite.

"Great. Well, now the question is, how did a unicorn come off a sketch and kill Billy's dad? How's any of this happening?"

Dean shrugged, taking a bite of his food.

* * *

The janitor walked past the desk carrying a backpack as Jean counted money behind the counter.

"Well, that's it for me. Guess I'll head out." he said, trying and failing not to look shifty.

"Uh, one more thing." Jean said, stopping him. "Some kid puked in the ball pit. It's gonna need a full sanitization. Do that, and then you can clock out."

He groaned and turned around, cursing his job as he walked back to the pit.

* * *

Dean and Elena looked around once they climbed out of the car at Plucky's, which was now a crime scene. Sam walked over to Jean immediately to talk to her. Elena hung back, surveying the crowd for any suspicious people as Dean walked to the EMT's wheeling the gurney with the dead janitor on it.

"Hold on one second there, guys." He said, showing them his ID.

Dean lifted the sheet to take a look and inhaled sharply when he saw what caused the major blood loss.

He heard Sam walk up behind him as he dropped the sheet.

"So?" Dean asked, glancing over at him.

"The manager found the body in the ball pit. Blood everywhere." Sam informed him, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets.

"Cops have a theory?"

"Yeah, they think the ball washer did it." Sam replied.

Dean paused, wondering if he heard what he really did.

"The what?"

"The... ball washer." Sam repeated.

Dean smiled slightly, unable to resist.

"The what?" he said again.

"The ball…" the younger brother cut off, throwing his hands up out of frustration.

Dean laughed, shaking his head as Elena walked up.

"Cops know what happened."

Sam gave Dean a warning look, turning to look at her.

"They think the ball washer did it." he said, looking exasperated.

Elena titled her head to the side.

"The what?" she questioned.

"The ball…" Sam stopped talking when he saw the amused twinkle in her eyes. "Seriously you two?"

They both smiled as Dean turned to the sheet covering the body.

"Look at this." he said, pulling it up.

Sam and Elena leaned forward, both of them inhaling sharply as they raised their eyebrows.

"Thank you, gentlemen." Dean nodded at them, signaling that the EMT's could wheel the body away.

He turned back to them with a serious look.

"That's a shark bite."

"Yeah." Sam sighed, agreeing.

"And, uh, judging from the radius, I'd say a 20-footer, at least." Dean said.

Sam looked skeptical as Elena nodded in agreement. They both looked at his doubtful look.

"Shark Week, man." Dean said.

"How do you not watch that?" Elena asked, squinting at him as even she agreed with Dean.

"Whole week of sharks." Dean sighed as they followed him.

* * *

Later that night, they were standing in the empty Plucky's inspecting the wall of placemats with flashlights. Elena was standing behind the other two as they looked at all of the nametags. One of them was empty. Sam ripped it off of the wall, showing it to Dean and Elena.

"Omar Cooper. How much you want to bet little Omar here was scared of sharks?" he said.

"Saul the janitor is connected how? I mean, he's not related to Omar." Dean reminded him.

"No. But Saul had something he wanted to tell us." Elena reminded them.

"So this isn't about ganking some dickweed parent." Dean said, nodding.

"More like, uh, silencing a whistle-blower?" Sam shrugged.

"Great, so whatever we're looking for can literally fire off childhood fears at will. Wow. Watch out for evil lunch ladies." Dean said as Sam pulled out an EMF reader.

"All right. Let's comb this place."

Dean took out his own device as Elena stood beside him.

"Seriously. Dractopus. Seabiscuit the impaler. Land shark… what's next?" he muttered.

"Dragons." Elena guessed. "Not those stupid ones that Eve sent up here. Real fire-breathing scaly dragons."

Dean looked up at her, raising his eyebrows.

"What? You could wield a sword again." She said, smirking before walking off in the direction that Sam went.

He watched her go before shaking his head and focusing on the matter at hand.

* * *

Elena twirled her dagger in her hands as she sat on the floor in front of the bed the next morning. Dean was on the bed flipping through his dad's journal as Sam researched on the laptop at the table.

"Maybe a... Tulpa?" Sam suggested.

"No, killings are too spread out." Dean shot his idea down.

"True. Um... angel?" he offered.

"Gabriel would know and he would tell us something." Elena said simply.

Sam sighed heavily.

"All right. So... what?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, I don't know. I'm tapped out." Dean said, closing the book and taking a long sip of coffee.

"At least we know where it is." Elena said. "Plucky's."

"That's where the victims are getting picked up." Sam shrugged.

"Yeah, but we swept the place last night, and nada." Dean reminded them.

"I can go back. Go to the employees, maybe dig up some dirt. Elena can help." Sam suggested.

"What good's that gonna do? They think you're a Fed. The one guy who was gonna rat, he got Bruce'd. If anybody knows anything, they're not gonna tell you."

"All right." Sam clapped his hands once. "Yep. That's the plan."

They watched as he stood and walked towards the bathroom.

"We'll go back, I'll play bad cop, really lean into them."

"And...?" Dean and Elena questioned at the same time.

"And... when I'm done, then you and Elena watch them and see if anyone runs out."

"So if somebody freaks out, then that's our creep." Dean nodded.

"Or he'll lead us closer, and you can track him." Sam suggested.

"Well, what's our cover?" he questioned.

"I don't know. Just hang back. Act normal." Sam shrugged, going into the bathroom and closing the door.

Elena smirked as Dean grimaced.

"Yeah, yeah. Guy in his thirties hanging out at Plucky's alone… that's normal. That's not pervy at all."

* * *

"So, it doesn't matter what people say. We've roped it off. I've notified the powers that be. Everyone's aware." Jean said as Sam walked up to her.

He cleared his throat loudly and she turned to him.

"Agent. I bet I know why you're here." She said, smiling widely.

"How's business?" he asked, keeping his face emotionless.

"Turns out not even grim flippin' death can slow down the birthday fun." Jean said, shrugging with a big smile still in place.

"Oh." He nodded.

"We roped off the ball pit, though, until corporate can get here. I just can't believe the machine fritzed and did Saul in like that."

"Yeah, that makes two of us. I'm gonna need to talk to some of your employees." Sam said, pulling out a notepad from his pocket.

"Like who?" she asked, her smile fading slightly.

"Like you." he replied somewhat menacingly.

Jean hesitated before nodding and leading him to the back where a room with a table was set up. Dean watched as they passed before settling himself at a table. A girl walked past him carrying a large rainbow-colored slinky that caught his eye. He stood, staring around with wide eyes. When he went to the counter that stood in front of the toys, he saw an employee named Howard standing there.

"Howdy, friend." He said with a grin.

"Giant slinky." Dean said, pointing. "Would have killed for one of those when I was a kid. How much?"

"1,000 tickets." The man said, nodding happily.

"American dinero. How much?" Dean questioned again.

"Oh, we don't take cash here at Plucky Pennywhistle's. Only tickets won through hard work and determination." Howard said cheerfully.

Dean stared at him for a moment.

"You mainlined the kool-aid, huh?"

Howard laughed as Dean stared at him with an unamused look.

"It's double-ticket Tuesday if you play skeeball." The employee said, pointing at the machine before another child came up holding a string of tickets.

"Howdy, friend!"

* * *

Jean was seated at the table as Sam remained on his feet pacing back and forth.

"So, where were you last night?" he asked solemnly.

"Well, here. Obviously. I found him. But I was by the cash register the whole time. There's a security camera pointed right at the counter. The cops already looked at it." Jean informed him.

"Uh-huh." He said, nodding. "And you heard nothing?"

"I heard the ball blaster. I didn't hear him. If I did, I would have run in, of course." She assured him.

"Yeah, right, right. So that's your excuse." Sam said, putting his hands on the table and leaning towards her.

"My what? Look, I know I'm new to this job, but I'm…"

"What?" he interrupted her, squinting. "How new?"

"Couple weeks." Jean said weakly. "I just got promoted."

"Hmm. So, uh, was there a lot of competition for the gig?" he questioned.

"I guess. It comes with benefits. The bosses had us all write essays about how we would do our best for the kids, and they picked me. Don't be shocked, but I actually did two semesters at college, so... I'm not in any kind of trouble, am I?" she asked, concerned.

"I don't know. Why don't you tell me?" Sam invited her.

"Look, I know I'm not perfect, but I'm trying." Jean sighed. "And, I mean, it's not as if I'd ever do anything illegal."

Sam slammed a hand on the table and leaned closer, scaring her.

"Sure you wouldn't." he said, staring into her eyes.

* * *

Dean beamed as the ball that he rolled hit the 30 ring of the skeeball machine. He looked down and saw that only three tickets came out of the machine. A grimace formed on his face as he heard footsteps behind him. He turned to see Elene walking up with a raised eyebrow.

"Playing games? Seriously?" she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Passing the time." he shrugged, pocketing the tickets.

"Well while you were trying to get tickets, the manager went outside and lit up a joint. She's not our murderer." Elena informed him, leaning against the machine and crossing her ankles. Dean nodded and pulled out his phone to text Sam.

* * *

**High Times not our gal**

Sam nodded as he read the text from Dean. Howard was sitting at the table reading his business card.

"Special Agent? Wow!" the man laughed cheerfully. "I want you to know, sir, that I really appreciate what you do, and…"

"Quiet." Sam cut him off.

* * *

"Hey! Stop cheating!"

Dean and Elena glanced over at the little boy who was yelling. They noticed a chubbier kid kneeling at the top of the skeeball machine a few rows over dropping the balls into the holes. He scoffed at the littler kid and went back to what he was doing. Dean walked over as Elena followed him with a sigh.

"You heard him. Knock it off!" Dean said gruffly, scaring the chubby boy into running away.

"Jackass." he and the kid said at the same time.

They looked at each other and Dean smiled.

"Tyler, soup's on." Elena and Dean stepped away as Tyler's mother brought him a piece of pizza on a plate.

Dean sneakily snuck the tickets from the skeeball machine left by the boy who was cheating. Elena rolled her eyes as he shoved them in his pocket.

"But, Mom, I don't want…"

"Just eat it." Libby snapped, obviously stressed as she turned to walk away.

"But it sucks!" Tyler called after her.

She sighed and shook her head, continuing to walk off. Tyler shoved the plate aside and pulled a placemat towards him where he was drawing with a pencil.

"Hey, why don't you cut her some slack?" Dean suggested, stepping up as Elena hung back and watched.

"What do you care?" Tyler asked, peering up at him with narrowed eyes.

"Because I've been where you are." Dean shrugged.

"Your mom made you camp at a stupid Plucky's after school?" the kid asked skeptically.

"No." Dean said hesitantly. "No, but my dad, he... hauled me places. Besides, she's working a tough gig."

Dean nodded towards Libby who was on her hands and knees cleaning up a spill. Elena frowned and listened as she stared down at her shoes.

"You know? She's exhausted. You should take pity on the old. And, hey, free grub." He said, pointing at the pizza.

"That stuff tastes like butt." Tyler said, rolling his eyes.

"What? Come on, it can't be that bad." Dean said doubtfully, picking the plate. "Let's see here."

He took a bite and chewed thoughtfully. After a moment he made an 'it's not so bad' look before he gagged and spat it out.

"That is butt." He said, shaking his head as he set the plate down.

Tyler laughed as Elena smiled slightly. Dean glanced around at Tyler's drawing to see that it was a robot with red beams coming from its eyes.

"You scared of robots?" he asked.

"They have laser eyes." Tyler said seriously, his eyes wide.

"Yes." Dean agreed.

"Hey." Elena nudged him as Howard walked out of the break room.

They watched as a child tugged on his vest from behind.

"Excuse me."

"Howdy, friend! What's your name?" Howard said excitedly as they shook hands.

"Evan." The child answered.

"Hi." The employee said happily, grinning from ear to ear.

* * *

Sam glanced at the text that said, **Nope**, before looking up at the table where someone in a lion costume was sitting.

"Lose the head." He said, standing up as the young man lifted the head off fo the costume.

"Why'd you do it?" he demanded.

"Do... what?" the young man asked, looking nervous.

"I think you know." Sam growled, squinting at him.

"I... I got rights. You can't…"

Sam shoved the chair on his side of the table away and leaned over it, getting in his face.

"I'm the federal government, pal. I can do whatever I want." He snapped threateningly.

The young man looked terrified, holding up his hands.

"Okay. I'll talk."

Sam took a step back from the table and stared at him. He suddenly threw the lion head at him and ran for the door.

"Dean!" Sam shouted, tripping over the chair as he tried to run for the door.

Elena and Dean both looked up as the lion man ran out. Dean immediately broke into a run, following the young man as Elena darted towards the other back door to cut him off. Sam followed Dean but came to a halt for a moment when a clown blocked his path.

The young man slammed out of the employee entrance into an alleyway followed by Dean and further away by Sam.

"Hey! Hey! Come here!" Dean yelled, nearing him.

He reached out and grabbed the tail of the lion costume. It came off in his hand and he made a noise of frustration before throwing it off.

"Hey!" he yelled again, pumping his legs faster.

Elena ran around the other corner and cut him off as she hurtled towards him. The young man hesitated just long enough for Dean to tackle him to the ground. He quickly turned him over as Elena and Sam came to a stop beside them.

"If this is about the meth lab that fireballed up in Butte, it wasn't me. Okay, it was my brother, but, um, we got the same fingerprints, and... please. This is the best job I ever had." He began ranting pleadingly.

"All right, look, uh..."

"Cliff." The young man informed Dean.

"Cliff. You're not using kids' nightmares to smoke people, are you, Cliff?" Dean questioned.

"I don't... think so." he said with confusion.

Dean glanced up at Sam, then Elena, before hauling Cliff up to his feet.

"Get up."

"What's going on?" he asked.

"All right, cards up. Yeah, we don't care that you, you know, broke bad or whatever. But there is some seriously weird going on in there." Dean said.

"You mean the sub-basement." Cliff said with wide eyes.

"This place has a sub-basement?" Sam sighed.

"Sure. Door's out back. Easy to miss if you don't know." He nodded, eager to get out of the situation.

"What's in there?" Elena asked.

"Alls I know is... me and Saul used to come in after hours sometimes and... you ever shroom in a ball pit?"

Cliff laughed, looking at Sam who gave him an unimpressed glare. The smile on his face disappeared.

"Not that I...would, agents. It was Saul. Just Saul. All alone. Anyway... sometimes we'd hear, like, spooky stuff, through the vents... coming up from the boiler room."

Elena, Dean, and Sam all exchanged wary looks.

* * *

"But somebody stole it!"

As Dean and Sam walked back into the restaurant, they all looked over to see Libby trying to get Tyler out of the building. She stopped and turned, bending down and taking his face in her hands.

"So, draw another one!" she said sharply. "Okay? We gotta go."

She took his hand to lead him out. Tyler glanced at Dean who nodded at him.

"Okay. I'm sorry." The kid said quietly.

Libby looked down at with surprise.

"Thank you." she sighed.

"That place mat sucked anyway." He shrugged as she smiled.

Dean frowned, turning to walk to the table where Tyler was sitting.

"Dean." Sam said, noticing his confused look. "What? What is it?"

"While you were out being Dirty Harry, uh, Tyler's mom got pissy with him, and now his place mat's missing." He said, looking up at them.

"So, what do you think?" Sam asked.

"I think the bitchy mom plus, uh, sad kid plus place mat with something nuts written on it... equals wacky corpse."

"So you think she's next on the list?"

Dean nodded.

"All right, I'll tail them just to be safe. You two…"

"Check the boiler room. I know." Dean nodded.

"Right." Sam turned to walk off but then turned back.

"Oh. Uh, Dean, hey, uh, any idea what he drew?" he asked, terrified that it might be a clown.

"Robot." Dean informed him.

"Robot?" he questioned.

"Yeah, about the size of a house. Shoots destructo beams out of its eyes." the older brother said, pointing out from his eyes with his fingers.

"At least I'll see it coming." Sam sighed.

"Yeah." Dean agreed, shrugging before turning to walk off. "Hey where's Elena?"

He turned back but Sam was already walking towards the door, not having heard him. He shrugged and assumed that she was waiting for him in the alley.

* * *

Elena walked towards the door to the boiler room slowly, not making a sound as she reached towards it. When she heard the sound of a gun cocking, she froze and gritted her teeth.

"Go inside." a nervous voice said.

She turned her head to see Howard pointing the gun at her with a glare on his face.

"Go. Open the door and go in." he said, his hands shaking as he pointed the gun at her.

She sighed and opened the door, playing along until she could get the upper hand, which wouldn't be too hard judging by how he was acting.

"Please, let me go." she said in a bored voice as she walked down the stairs with her hands up in a surrender position. "I don't know anything."

"Shut up." Howard snapped, either ignoring the sarcasm in her voice or he was too stupid to hear it.

* * *

Dean walked down the stairs and looked around using a flashlight in one hand and a gun in the other. When he caught sight of the large pot with a flame burning in the middle of the room, he stopped and stared at it.

"Now, that's perfectly normal." he commented.

He looked around to see children's drawings on the wall. One was of a boy under water. Next to it was a photograph with two boys with a birthday cake. Three dolls were on a table next to an open spell book. He closed the book to see Tyler's drawing underneath it.

"Drop it."

Dean turned to see Howard standing there holding Elena against him with a gun pressed flush to her head. She looked bored, sighing heavily.

"Drop it!"

"Don't bother." Elena said, rolling her eyes.

"I'll shoot her." Howard threatened, cocking the gun.

She scoffed.

"Wait for your balls to drop and try that line again."

Howard glared over at her and held the gun tighter.

"Go ahead, pull the trigger, Howard. Show me how much of a man you are."

His face reddened as Dean watched with a face torn between amusement and concern. Suddenly the employee pulled the trigger. Dean flinched but nothing happened. Howard looked as shocked as anyone. Elena rolled her eyes and stomped her shoe into his foot before driving her elbow into his stomach. He dropped the gun and she caught it before it hit the ground, turning around and pointing it at him as Dean raised his gun again.

"The safety's on, idiot." She said simply, joining Dean at his side.

Howard stared at them with wide, fearful eyes.

"Some pretty heavy hoodoo you got here. I gotta say, as far as I know, none of these things, uh, can poop out a Unicorn." Dean said, gesturing around.

"There's power in fear." Howard said nervously. "And when a child draws what he's afraid of, a little of that mojo ends up on the page."

"So, what, you toss it in the fire, and some bed-wetter's horror show comes to life?" Elena demanded.

"I got to get something off the parent, too. Something they own. That bit gets tricky." He shrugged.

"Well, it hasn't seemed to slow you down." Dean acknowledged.

"I'm just doing what I need to!" he yelled, looking extremely terrified but angry at the same time.

Dean scoffed, reaching out to grab Tyler's drawing, ripping it in half.

"No drawing... no Iron Giant!"

He crumpled the two halves of the drawing and tossed them away.

"Oh, that b-word is still on the list! But not tonight. Bigger fish." Howard said.

"You aren't going to do anything, Howard. You're done." Elena said, glaring at him.

"I'd shut up! 'Cause I got lots of ways to take care of bullies. Don't you worry. Like that FBI guy. He's your pal, right? I saw you chase Cliff down. Ten minutes ago, his business card was torched. Along with something from my... personal collection."

Howard pointed to a placemat with a child's drawing on it. Dean and Elena glanced at it to see two terrifying clowns drawn on it.

"I – I – I picked it out real special for him, too. Soon as I saw him, I noticed. He was staring at every little Plucky like it was gonna stab him or something. Guy's got a real thing about clowns."

* * *

Sam sighed as he climbed out of the car to stretch. Tyler and Libby were both safe in the house with no sign of any giant robots showing up. When he heard a rustle behind him, he whirled around to see a terrifying clown sneaking up on him with a grin. He gasped and stumbled backwards as the thing laughed and darted forward to grab him.

* * *

"Fuck." Elena sighed.

"Go find him. I'll take care of Howard here." Dean said, training his gun on him.

Howard watched with shock as Elena gave him the other gun and flipped Howard off before disappearing.

"How did she… how?" he stammered.

"That's not important." Dean growled.

* * *

Sam slammed through the warehouse door after running for ten blocks. He could hear the clown's laughter in his ears as he backed away. When he turned around, he saw another clown there grinning at him. It laughed maniacally before punching him in the face and causing him to stumble backwards. As the monster reared back for another hit, his fist was suddenly caught and he was propelled backwards as Elena shoved him away. She knocked him to his knees and slammed her foot across his face.

Sam pulled out his gun and shot the clown as Elena darted to the side. It didn't hurt it and only caused glitter to fly out of the hole.

* * *

Well, hey, these are, uh, really nice dolls. Did you paint them yourself?" Dean asked as he picked up one of the clown dolls.

Howard didn't respond, staring at him.

"Oh. Uh, friggin' Plucky." He said, rolling his eyes.

"Plucky helps kids. It's all I ever wanted to do. And when the management slot opened up, I..." He cut off, shaking his head. "… but they passed me over."

"Shocker." Dean said, rolling his eyes.

"No, I told them, No one cares more than me." he argued as Dean set the clown back down. "But suits never listen. So, I'm doing it my way."

"So let me get this straight. You didn't get the good parking space, so you start dropping bodies?" Dean said, raising his eyebrows at the man.

"Those parents were horrible. They deserved what they got." Howard snapped, glaring at him.

"What about Saul?"

"Saul had a big mouth!" Howard yelled.

* * *

Elena tackled the clown to the ground as the first one finally bursted through the door. Sam whirled around just as it sprayed him with seltzer from the flower on his jacket. He stared at it, taken aback with wide eyes. Elena yelled at him to duck and picked up the gun, shooting the clown in the head. It didn't slow it down, just making it laugh.

* * *

"Some guy hits on the babysitter, all of a sudden he's the world's worst dad?" Dean questioned.

"A good parent puts his kids first." Howard said, lifting his head proudly.

"And having a little girl watch her pop get ganked by the closet monster… that's putting her first?" he said skeptically.

"In the long run, they'll all be better off." he confirmed.

"You think so? Really?" Dean said, turning to look at the pictures on the wall.

"I would have been." Howard said quietly.

He looked at the boy drawn below the water, then over at the picture of the two little boys.

"So, your brother. What happened to him?"

Howard stared up at him with wide eyes.

"It's not my fault! It's theirs!" he yelled.

* * *

Sam hit the windshield of the truck as Elena kept trying to find a weak spot on the clown she was fighting. He slid down and immediately the clown picked him up and slammed his fist into his stomach. He stumbled backwards and found a tire iron on the ground, lifting it up in the air.

* * *

"Looks to me like he drowned." Dean said, looking at the drawing.

"I was screaming... but my folks... they didn't listen. They never listened." Howard said, looking upset.

"It was an accident." Dean acknowledged.

"They let him die!" Howard shouted, looking devastated.

He glanced at the gun in Dean's hand.

"Are you going to kill me?"

Dean shook his head.

"I don't want to kill you Howard. I'm gonna turn you in and you're going to confess to killing the others."

Howard stared at him with fear.

"I can't go to prison." He said.

Dean shook his head before rolling his eyes.

"You should have thought about that before killing people."

* * *

Sam ducked as the second clown takes a swing at him before hitting that clown with the tire iron. Elena slammed the first one into the wall and punched him several times as he laughed continuously. She heard a cry and saw Sam crumpled to the ground with the clown standing over him with a wrench. The clown she was dealing with took the chance to wrap it's hand around her throat. She grabbed his wrist and twisted, satisfied as a crack filled the air.

* * *

"I won't go to prison." Howard said, shaking his head as he pulled the picture of his brother under the water off of the wall.

"You don't have a choice, Howard." He said.

"I still have nightmares. I haven't even been in the water since." The employee said, turning towards him and holding the picture.

"Because you're afraid." Dean agreed, lowering his gun.

Suddenly Howard reached out and picked up a clown doll. He tossed it in the fire along with the drawing.

"No!"

Dean froze as a child appeared dripping in water. Howard watched with horror as the young boy reached up and touched his hand. He tried to shoot the kid but it did nothing. Howard began choking, coughing up blood as he collapsed to his knees.

"It wasn't my fault." He gurgled, staring up at his brother. "I'm sorry."

Water spouted from his mouth as Dean stumbled away. The child disappeared just as Howard's body collapsed to the ground.

* * *

Elena flew through the air into the wall. The clown waved at her before turning to run to Sam. The other did the same and Sam ducked, trying to avoid the inevitable collision. Suddenly they both exploded into glitter as they collided with him. Sam looked up with a terrified look on his face before spitting out a mouthful of glitter. Elena stared at him for a moment before a smile spreaded across her face and she let out a pealing laugh. He turned to stare at her with wide eyes as she scrambled to her feet.

"Wait until Dean sees you." she said, walking over to him and putting her hand on his arm, concentrating as she healed him up from the fight.

"Thanks for fighting with me." he sighed, wiping his mouth of blood.

Elena didn't say anything, just nodding.

"I guess Dean stopped the guy." She said as they walked out.

"Thank God. I never want to go back to that stupid Plucky place again." Sam grumbled.

Elena smirked over at him.

"Sorry, Sam. We have to go there one last time." she said.

"What? Why?" he whined.

* * *

Dean was leaning against his car as they drove up. Elena climbed out first looking incredibly amused. When Sam stepped out, Dean's eyes widened and he took a few steps towards him, obviously trying to hide his amusement at his glitter-covered brother. Sam raised hand and made a circular movement with his finger.

"Let's roll." He said with exhaustion.

Dean put his hands in his jacket pockets as his mouth twitched.

Sam sighed and spread his arms wide, inviting his reaction.

"Go ahead. Say it."

Dean began laughing as Elena smiled and Sam shook his head.

"I'm sorry." Dean said, unable to control his guffaws.

Sam smiled slightly at his brother's sparkling eyes.

"You look like you got attacked by some PCP-crazed strippers." He said, gesturing to his glitter infested hair.

Sam smiled wider.

"Dude, one of them sprayed me with seltzer from his flower."

Dean laughed louder as Elena giggled. Sam looked surprised at both of their reactions.

"I'm s– whew." Dean shook his head, trying to catch his breath. "What?"

"Nothing. Carry on." Sam invited him, raising an eyebrow.

"Ohh. That's... Sam... I'm sorry for... psychologically scarring you." he breathed, raising a hand in apology.

"Which time?" he replied.

"Shut up." Dean said, clutching at his stomach. "Seriously. You know, me… me ditching you when we were kids, that was a dick move. You know, the whole clown thing…"

"You know what, man? Honestly... getting my ass kicked by those juggalos tonight was, uh... it was therapeutic." Sam nodded.

"You faced your fear." Dean shrugged, turning back towards the car.

"Exactly. And now what else could a clown possibly ever do to me? I feel good." Sam shrugged.

"Well, congrats." Dean nodded.

"By the way, to celebrate..."

Elena reached into the Jeep, pulling out the thing they got at Pluckys.

"What?" Dean asked.

Sam took the giant slinky from her and held it out it to Dean.

"No!"

"Yes." Sam and Elena said as he took it and stared down at in wonder.

They walked to the car as he grinned.

"We earned that." Sam informed him.

Dean laughed triumphantly as he walked to the driver's side of the car.

"Hey. I got you a little something, too, actually."

He put the slinky on top of the car. Elena watched as he reached in the car and pulled out a clown doll, tossing it to Sam, who shuddered before giving Dean a bitchface.

"What? You said you were over it." the older brother shrugged. "You can think of it as a... clown phobia sobriety chip."

Sam glared at him as Elena and Dean both laughed and climbed into the car. As they drove away, the clown was thrown out of the window as Sam began threatening to take the slinky away from Dean.

* * *

**Please review and tell me what you think! In the next few chapters, you're going to see at least one familiar face that you might have been waiting for. **


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